SEC 11 Syllabus - um.edu.mt

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SEC 11 Syllabus English Language

2025

MATSEC Examinations Board

SEC SYLLABUS (2025): ENGLISH LANGUAGE

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3

List of Learning Outcomes ................................................................................................................................................ 4

Programme Level Descriptors ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria ................................................................................................................... 9

Scheme of Assessment ................................................................................................................................................... 26

Private Candidates .......................................................................................................................................................... 28

Coursework Assignment 1 MQF 1-2-3 ............................................................................................................................ 30



Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 1-2 ....................................................................................................... 61

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 1-2: Speaking ...................................................................................... 74

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 2-3 ....................................................................................................... 80

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 2-3: Speaking ...................................................................................... 95

Specimen Assessments: Private Candidates’ Controlled Paper MQF 1-2: Speaking .................................................... 101

Specimen Assessments: Private Candidates’ Controlled Paper MQF 1-2 ..................................................................... 106

Specimen Assessments: Private Candidates’ Controlled Paper MQF 2-3: Speaking .................................................... 126

Specimen Assessments: Private Candidates’ Controlled Paper MQF 2-3 ..................................................................... 132

Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms ..................................................................................................................................... 152

Appendix 2: Text Types (Reading and Writing) ............................................................................................................. 156

Appendix 3: List of thematic areas ................................................................................................................................ 158


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Introduction

This syllabus is based on the curriculum principles outlined in The National Curriculum Framework for All (NCF) which

was translated into law in 2012 and designed using the Learning Outcomes Framework that identify what students

should know and be able to achieve by the end of their compulsory education.

As a learning outcomes-based syllabus, it addresses the holistic development of all learners and advocates a quality

education for all as part of a coherent strategy for lifelong learning. It ensures that all children can obtain the necessary

skills and attitudes to be future active citizens and to succeed at work and in society irrespective of socio-economic,

cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, gender and sexual status. This syllabus provides equitable opportunities for all

learners to achieve educational outcomes at the end of their schooling which will enable them to participate in lifelong

and adult learning, reduce the high incidence of early school leaving and ensure that all learners attain key twenty-

first century competences.

This programme also embeds learning outcomes related to cross-curricular themes, namely digital literacy; diversity;

entrepreneurship creativity and innovation; sustainable development; learning to learn and cooperative learning and

literacy. In this way, students will be fully equipped with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and values needed to further

learning, work, life and citizenship.

What is the subject? Give a general definition.

The study area SEC English Language is informed by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) which highlights the

need for the acquisition of English as an “important international language of communication” (p.60). This is reflected

in the broad aims for this programme of learning found below.

The study area SEC English Language is based on learning outcomes which identify the knowledge, skills and values

that learners achieve and demonstrate by the end of the programme. It builds on knowledge and skills that learners

would have already acquired and aims to meet the “need to have proficiency in English for competitiveness in a

globalised economic environment” (NCF p. 41).

What does a study of the subject entail?

SEC English Language requires learners to develop their ability to communicate clearly, effectively and accurately with

a sense of purpose and audience when speaking and writing. In addition, it requires them to develop the skill to listen

to and understand spoken English and to read and understand different text types while evaluating and analysing the

writer’s intentions.

How is the subject related to candidates’ lives, to Malta, and/or to the world?

As stipulated in the constitution of Malta, English is one of the two official languages and for cultural and historical

reasons; it is part of the country’s identity. English is the second language for many candidates, the first language for

a significant number and the main foreign language for an increasing number of migrants (Educators’ Guide for

Pedagogy and Assessment LOF p.5) and as such, it is the medium which candidates make use of both in the public and


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personal domain. Furthermore, as citizens of an increasingly globalised world, candidates’ proficiency in English is of

paramount importance.

The aspirational programme learning outcomes for this subject are:

At the end of the programme, I can:

1. speak and write accurately, fluently and appropriately;

2. listen to and read texts designed to entertain, inform and persuade;

3. demonstrate an awareness of language;

4. collaborate with others in a community of learners;

5. make use of critical thinking skills to analyse and evaluate information;

6. reflect on my own learning in order to become autonomous;

7. express myself creatively;

8. make use of digital tools and resources to further my learning.

List of Learning Outcomes

At the end of the programme, I can:

LO 1 write different text types coherently using cohesive devices when necessary.

LO 2 write accurately and appropriately across genres for a different purpose and audience.

LO 3 plan, draft and revise my own writing.

LO 4 show understanding, retrieve and select information when I react to a different range of genres and

age-appropriate texts written for a different purpose and audience.

LO 5 make use of interpretation, inference and deduction.

LO 6 understand text organisation and structure and recognise different techniques used by the writer/s.

LO 7 understand what people say to me in various situations.

LO 8 understand and take notes of continuous speech while listening for gist and subsidiary ideas.

LO 9 listen to a conversation, presentation or dramatic performance and summarise the overt messages as

well as the sub-text of motivation and bias.

LO 10 adapt my style to all familiar situations, observing the appropriate use of register and vocabulary while

stating what I think and giving my reasons.

LO 11 ask appropriate questions to clarify my understanding on areas which are unclear and relay information

that I have obtained by adding brief related comments.

LO 12 while producing continuous speech, use appropriate, precise and correct language while focusing on

intelligibility.


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LO 13 be consistent in my use of tense, voice, mood, person and number.

LO 14 demonstrate my understanding of how words behave together by using these patterns in context.

LO 15 produce various forms of discourse.

Programme Level Descriptors

This syllabus sets out the content and assessment arrangements for the award of Secondary Education Certificate in

ENGLISH LANGUAGE at MQF Level 1, 2 or 3. Level 3 is the highest level which can be obtained for this qualification.

Table 1 overleaf refers to the qualification levels on the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) with minor

modifications to reflect specific ENGLISH LANGUAGE descriptors. These are generic statements that describe the

depth and complexity of each MQF level of study and outline the knowledge, skills and competences required to

achieve an award at Level 1, 2 or 3 in ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Knowledge involves the acquisition of basic, factual and theoretical information. Skills involve the application of the

acquired knowledge and understanding to different contexts. Competences indicate sufficiency of knowledge and

skills that enable someone to act in a wide variety of situations, such as whether one is competent to exercise skills

with or without supervision, autonomy or responsibility.


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MQF Level 1 MQF Level 2 MQF Level 3

Basic general related knowledge.

1. Acquires basic general knowledge related to

the immediate environment and expressed

through a variety of simple tools and

context as an entry point to lifelong

learning;

2. Knows and understands the steps needed to

complete simple tasks and activities in an

environment;

3. Is aware and understands basic tasks and

instructions;

4. Understands basic textbooks and instruction

guides.

Basic factual knowledge of the fields of work or

study.

1. Possess good knowledge of the field of work

or study;

2. Is aware and interprets related information

and ideas;

3. Understands facts and procedures in the

application of basic related tasks and

instructions;

4. Selects and uses relevant knowledge to

accomplish specific actions for self and

others.

Knowledge of facts, principles, processes and

general concepts in the field of work or study.

1. Understands the relevancy of theoretical

knowledge and information related to the

field of work or study;

2. Assesses, evaluates and interprets facts,

establishing basic principles and concepts in

the field of work or study;

3. Understands facts and procedures in the

application of more complex tasks and

instructions;

4. Selects and uses relevant knowledge acquired

on one’s own initiative to accomplish specific

actions for self and others.


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Basic skills required to carry out simple related

tasks.

1. Has the ability to apply basic knowledge and

carry out a limited range of simple tasks;

2. Has basic repetitive communication skills to

complete well defined routine tasks and

identifies whether actions have been

accomplished;

3. Follows instructions and be aware of

consequences of basic actions for self and

others.

Basic cognitive and practical skills required to use

relevant information in order to carry out tasks

and to solve related routine problems using simple

rules and tools.

1. Has the ability to demonstrate a range of

skills by carrying out a range of complex

related tasks within the field of work or

study;

2. Communicates basic related information;

3. Ensures related tasks are carried out

effectively.

A range of cognitive and practical skills required to

accomplish related tasks and solve related

problems by selecting and applying basic methods,

tools, materials and information.

1. Demonstrates a range of developed skills to

carry out more than one complex related task

effectively and in unfamiliar and

unpredictable contexts;

2. Communicates more complex information;

3. Solves basic related problems by applying

basic methods, tools, materials and

information given in a restricted learning

environment.


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Work out or study under Direct Supervision in a

structured context.

1. Applies basic knowledge and skills to do

simple, repetitive and familiar tasks;

2. Participates in and takes basic responsibility

for the action of simple tasks;

3. Activities are carried out under guidance

and within simple defined timeframes;

4. Acquires and applies basic key competences

at this level.

Work or study under supervision with some

autonomy.

1. Applies factual knowledge and practical skills

to do some structured tasks;

2. Ensures one acts pro-actively;

3. Carries out related activities under limited

supervision and with limited responsibility in

a quality controlled context;

4. Acquires and applies basic key competences

at this level.

Take responsibility for completion of related tasks

in work or study and adapt own behaviour to

circumstances in solving problems.

1. Applies knowledge and skills to do some tasks

systematically;

2. Adapts own behaviour to circumstances in

solving related problems by participating pro-

actively in structured learning environments;

3. Uses own initiative with established

responsibility and autonomy, but is

supervised in quality controlled learning

environments, normally in an environment;

4. Acquires key competences at this level as a

basis for lifelong learning.


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Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Subject Focus: Writing

Learning Outcome 1:

I can write different text types coherently using cohesive devices when necessary.

Assessment Criteria (MQF 1) Assessment Criteria (MQF 2) Assessment Criteria (MQF 3)

1.1a I can, with support, write paragraphs by

organising sentences which contain logical ideas.

1.2a I can organise information and ideas with

clear, logical progression from one paragraph to

another.

1.3a I can sequence information and ideas

logically from one paragraph to another and in

relation to the whole.

1.1b I can, with support, use a limited range of

grammatical cohesive devices.

1.2b I can use a basic range of lexical and


1.3b I can use an extensive range of lexical and


1.1c I can, with support, produce simple texts

using different text types

e.g. narrative, descriptive and discursive.

1.2c I can produce basic texts using different text

types


1.3c I can produce complex texts using different

text types


1.1d I can, with support, produce simple text

structures

e.g. sequence, problem and solution.

1.2d I can produce basic text structures

e.g. description, cause and effect, compare and

contrast, sequence, problem and solution.

1.3d I can produce complex text structures

e.g. description, cause and effect, compare and

contrast, sequence, problem and solution.

1.1e I can, with support, fill in a simple form. 1.2e I can fill in a simple form. 1.3e I can fill in a more detailed form.

1.1f I can, with support, respond in writing to an

input including visuals and graphics.

1.2f I can respond in writing to an input including

visuals and graphics.

1.3f I can respond in writing to various inputs

including visuals and graphics.


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2.1a I can, with support, spell high frequency

grammatical function words and common

content words.

2.2a I can spell some grammatical function words

and content words.

2.3a I can spell most grammatical function words

and low frequency words.

2.1b I can, with support, make use of a limited

range of punctuation and sentence demarcation

which allow for basic communication.

2.2b I can make use of a range of punctuation

and sentence demarcation which allow for clear

communication.

2.3b I can make use of a wide range of

punctuation and sentence demarcation with a

high level of accuracy.

2.1c I can, with support, make use of

grammatical structures with some control of

agreement.

2.2c I can make use of basic grammatical

structures.

2.3c I can make use of complex grammatical

structures.

2.1d I can, with support, construct simple and

basic compound sentences.

2.2d I can construct compound and basic

complex sentences.

2.3d I can construct a variety of complex

sentences.

2.1e I can, with support, write in an appropriate

way with the right tone.

2.2e I can make use of words to create a

particular mood or feeling.

2.3e I can make use of complex structures to

create a particular mood or feeling

e.g. idiomatic language.

2.1f I can, with support, use a limited range of

vocabulary specific to the context.

2.2f I can use a good range of vocabulary specific

to the context.

2.3f I can make use of a wide range of context

specific lexical features to convey meaning in

writing.

2.1g I can, with support, make use of informal

register in my writing.

2.2g I can make use of formal register generally in

my writing.

2.3g I can make use of formal register consistently

in my writing.

2.2h I can, with support, reword/rephrase parts of

a text. 2.3h I can reword/rephrase parts of a text.

2.1i I can, with support, establish a purpose when

I write.

2.2i I can write with a clear purpose generally

using the appropriate style.

2.3i I can write with a clear purpose using the

appropriate style throughout.

2.1j I can, with support, write with a specific

reader in mind.

2.2j I can write with a specific reader in mind

generally using the appropriate style.

2.3j I can write with a specific reader in mind using

the appropriate style throughout.


Learning Outcome 2:

I can write accurately and appropriately across genres for a different purpose and audience.


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Learning Outcome 3:

I can plan, draft and revise my own writing.


3.1a I can, with support, complete a simple plan

before I start writing.

3.2a I can produce a basic plan before I start

writing.

3.3a I can produce an effective plan to help me

structure my writing effectively.

3.1b I can, with support, make changes to words

after analysing my first draft.

3.2b I can make changes to words and sentences


3.3b I can make changes to words, sentences and

paragraphs after analysing my first draft.

3.1c I can, with support, edit punctuation

grammar and spelling in my own writing.

3.2c I can edit punctuation, grammar and spelling

in my own writing. 3.3c I can revise coherence in my own writing.


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Subject Focus: Reading

Learning Outcome: 4

I can show understanding, retrieve and select information when I react to a different range of genres and age-appropriate texts written for a different purpose and audience.


4.1a I can, with support, select the correct meaning of a few high frequency words according to the context provided by the text.

4.2a I can work out the correct meaning of high frequency words according to the context provided by the text.

4.3a I can work out the correct meaning of low frequency words according to the context provided by the text.

4.1b I can, with support, select the main points from a simple text.

4.2b I can select the main points from a complex text.

4.3b I can select the main points from a long complex text.

4.2c I can summarise short texts. 4.3c I can summarise long texts.

4.2d I can restate in a shorter and simpler form what an author has written in order to clarify.

4.1e I can, with support, read simple texts of different genres.

4.2e I can read more complex texts of different genres.

4.3e I can read long, complex texts of different genres.

4.1f I can, with support, skim simple texts. 4.2f I can skim more complex texts. 4.3f I can skim long, complex texts.

4.1g I can, with support, scan simple texts. 4.2g I can scan more complex texts. 4.3g I can scan long, complex texts.


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4.1h I can, with support, identify simple anaphoric references in texts.

4.2h I can identify cataphoric and anaphoric references in texts.

4.1i I can, with support, retrieve information from one or more sources.

4.2i I can retrieve information from one or more sources.

4.3i I can retrieve information from a range of sources.

4.1j I can, with support, explain why I chose to read a particular genre. e.g. for enjoyment.

4.2j I can explain why I chose to read at least two different genres. e.g. to gather information.

4.3j I can explain why I chose to read a variety of genres. e.g. to research information.

4.1k I can, with support, identify the purpose of a simple text.

4.2k I can identify the different purposes of texts across genres.

4.3k I can comment about the different purposes of complex texts across genres.

4.1l I can, with support, identify the audience of simple texts.

4.2l I can identify the audience of complex texts across genres.

4.3l I can comment about the audience of complex texts by giving supporting evidence.

4.1m I can, with support, distinguish between a contemporary and non-contemporary text.

4.2m I can find some evidence in the text to support my choice when I distinguish between a contemporary and non-contemporary text.

4.3m I can justify the evidence I identify in the text to support my choice when I distinguish between a contemporary and non-contemporary text.

4.1n I can, with support, accurately decode a text to read for meaning.

4.2n I can, with support, use a range of strategies, including accurate decoding of a text, to read for meaning.

4.3n I can use a range of strategies including accurate decoding of a text, to read for meaning.

4.1o I can, with support, identify the sub-topics of the paragraphs in simple text.

4.2o I can identify the sub-topics of the paragraphs in a simple text.

4.3o I can identify the sub-topics of the paragraphs in complex text.


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Learning Outcome: 5

I can make use of interpretation, inference and deduction.


5.1a I can, with support, distinguish between fact and opinion in a simple text.

5.2a I can give reasons to support the distinction between fact and opinion.

5.3a I can provide detailed evidence from the text to support the distinction between fact and opinion.

5.1b I can, with support, make use of clues and prior knowledge to infer meaning from a text.

5.2b I can make use of text-to-text connections to infer meaning from a text.

5.3b I can make use of subtle clues to make inferences about the layers of meaning in a text.

5.2c I can, with support, synthesise information/ideas found in a text I have read.

5.3c I can synthesise information/ideas found in a text.

5.1d I can, with support, identify at least one aspect of an author’s bias.

5.2d I can give some evidence of an author’s bias in the text.

5.3d I can comment about the way language is used to position and manoeuver the reader to agree with the author.

5.1e I can, with support, distinguish between positive and negative connotation in words used in a simple text.

5.2e I can identify the way connotation is used in a text to influence the reader.

5.3e I can comment about the way connotation is used in the text to influence the reader.

5.1f I can, with support, make use of inferences by selecting the theme of a text from a given list.

5.2f I can make use of inferences to identify the theme of a text.

5.3f I can make use of inferences to explain the theme of a text.

5.1g I can, with support, deduce meaning from context.

5.2g I can deduce meaning from context. 5.3g I can deduce meaning from complex contexts.

5.1h I can, with support, interpret visual sources e.g. graphs and diagrams.

5.2h I can interpret visual sources e.g. graphs and diagrams.

5.3h I can evaluate visual sources e.g. graphs and diagrams.


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Learning Outcome: 6

I can understand text organisation and structure and recognise different techniques used by the writer/s.


6.1a I can, with support, identify some basic features of organisation of a text.

6.2a I can identify various basic features of organisation of a text.

6.3a I can comment on basic and/or complex features of organisation of a text.

6.1b I can, with support, identify the structure of simple texts.

6.2b I can identify the structure of complex texts. 6.3b I can comment about the structure of complex texts.

6.1c I can, with support, make a simple comment about the effect of the writer’s choice of language in a text.

6.2c I can explain the effect of the writer’s choice of language in a text.

6.3c I can analyse the effect of the writer’s choice of language in a text.

6.1d I can, with support, compare and contrast

simple ideas from different texts

e.g. using a diagram or table.

6.2d I can compare and contrast more complex ideas from different texts.

6.3d I can compare and contrast complex ideas from different texts by making use of a wide range of effective language.


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Subject Focus: Listening

Learning Outcome: 7 (Coursework )

I can understand what people say to me in various situations.


7.1a I can, with support, follow simple utterances when they are clearly articulated and intelligible by providing suitable evidence.

7.2a I can follow spoken language when it is clearly articulated and intelligible by providing suitable evidence.

7.3a I can follow intelligible spoken language even when it is not clearly articulated by providing suitable evidence.

7.1b I can, with support, follow descriptions which are simple in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.2b I can follow descriptions which are moderately complex in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.3b I can follow descriptions which are complex in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.1c I can, with support, follow a discussion which is simple in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.2c I can follow a debate which is moderately complex in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.3c I can follow a debate which is complex in terms of linguistic, thematic and lexical content.

7.2d I can follow nuances of language

e.g. sarcasm.

7.3d I can follow nuances of language and determine the speaker’s meaning.

7.3e I can detect bias in the reporting of others.


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Learning Outcome: 8 (Coursework)

I can understand and take notes of continuous speech while listening for gist and subsidiary ideas.


8.1a I can, with support, follow the general ideas in a talk/speech about a familiar topic.

8.2a I can follow general and subsidiary ideas in a talk/speech about a familiar topic.

8.3a I can follow general and subsidiary ideas in a talk/speech about a wide range of topics.

8.1b I can, with support, infer some meaning when I follow a talk/speech about a familiar topic.

8.2b I can infer meaning when I follow a talk/speech about a familiar topic.

8.3b I can infer meaning when I follow a talk/speech about a wide range of topics.

8.1c I can, with support, identify individual words in continuous speech and show understanding of their meaning in isolation.

8.2c I can show understanding of clusters of words in continuous speech.

8.3c I can show understanding of clusters of words in complex continuous speech.

8.1d I can, with support, follow a spoken text that includes vocabulary which is frequent and familiar.

8.2d I can follow spoken texts that include a wide range of vocabulary and language structures.

8.3d I can follow spoken texts that include a wide range of vocabulary and complex language structures.

8.1e I can, with support listen for specific information in a talk/speech/conversation about a familiar topic.

8.2e I can listen for specific information in a talk/speech/conversation about a familiar topic.

8.3e I can listen for specific information in a talk/speech/conversation about a wide range of familiar topics.

8.1f I can, with support, follow a sequence of events/instructions/directions.

8.2f I can follow a sequence of events/instructions/directions.

8.3f I can follow a more detailed sequence of events/instructions/directions.


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Learning Outcome: 9 (Coursework)

I can listen to a conversation, presentation or dramatic performance and summarise the overt messages as well as the sub-text of motivation and bias.


9.1a I can, with support, follow main ideas in a conversation/presentation/dramatic performance.

9.2a I can follow main ideas in a conversation/presentation/dramatic performance.

9.3a I can follow main and subsidiary ideas in a conversation/presentation/dramatic performance.

9.1b I can, with support, infer meaning when following a conversation.

9.2b I can infer some meaning when following a conversation/presentation/dramatic performance.

9.3b I can infer meaning when following a conversation/presentation/dramatic performance.

9.1c I can, with support, follow narratives in a chronological sequence.

9.3c I can follow narratives, including those which are non-chronological.

9.1d I can, with support, identify a person’s point of view in a conversation.

9.2d I can listen for bias in a conversation. 9.3d I can explain the reason/s for a person’s bias after having listened to a conversation.

9.1e I can, with support, compare the speaker’s/speakers’ views with my own.

9.2e I can compare the different views of a speaker/speakers.

9.3e I can express my own opinion in relation to the different views presented by a speaker/speakers.

9.1f I can, with support, identify the speaker’s intention.

9.2f I can identify the speaker’s intention. 9.3f I can determine the speaker’s intention and attitude.

9.1g I can, with support, distinguish between fact and opinion in a simple text.

9.2g I can distinguish between fact and opinion in a simple text.

9.3g I can provide a reason to support the distinction between fact and opinion.


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Subject Focus: Speaking

Learning Outcome: 10

I can adapt my style to all familiar situations, observing the appropriate use of register and vocabulary while stating what I think and giving my reasons.


10.1a I can, with support, express straightforward ideas/information/feelings using simple vocabulary.

10.2a I can express challenging ideas/information/feelings using a range of vocabulary.

10.3a I can express sophisticated ideas/information/feelings using a sophisticated repertoire of vocabulary.

10.1b I can, with support, speak about my point of view regarding a topic.

10.2b I can agree/disagree with a point of view presented by other speakers in a discussion.

10.3b I can summarise the points of view presented in a discussion.

10.1c I can, with support, deliver a planned talk which I have prepared.

10.2c I can deliver a planned talk which I have prepared.

10.3c I can structure and sustain talk.

10.1d I can, with support, present a number of points about a familiar topic to a particular audience.

10.2d I can present a number of points about a familiar topic to a particular audience.

10.3d I can deliver an individual presentation.

10.1e I can, with support, explain what I think when asked a simple question.

10.2e I can defend my point of view when asked a simple question.

10.3e I can defend my point of view against reasonable questioning.

10.1f I can, with support, use language to convince others about a simple proposition by giving a reason.

10.2f I can use language to convince others of the benefits of a decision/viewpoint.

10.3f I can use language in a variety of persuasive forms.

10.1g I can, with support, organise and structure a short presentation.

10.2g I can organise and structure a presentation clearly and appropriately to meet the needs of the audience.

10.3g I can organise and structure a presentation using an effective range of strategies to engage the audience.


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10.1h I can, with support, meet the needs of the

audience. 10.2h I can achieve the purpose of my presentation.

10.1i I can, with support, use informal register when

communicating

e.g. with family and friends.

10.2i I can switch from informal to formal register. 10.3i I can choose and adapt language appropriately

to an audience.

10.1j I can, with support, take part in a role-playing

exercise by taking on a character role.

10.2j I can take part in a role-playing exercise by

adopting the appropriate communicative

strategies.

10.3j I can create and sustain different roles from a

range of real-life contexts.

10.1k I can, with support, produce simple

utterances for a purpose including greeting,

complaining, apologising, describing and narrating.

10.2k I can produce simple utterances for a purpose

including greeting, complaining, apologising,

describing, narrating and reporting.

10.1l I can, with support, give simple

instructions/directions using a logical sequence.

10.1l I can give simple instructions/directions using

a logical sequence.

10.1m I can, with support, make a suggestion and

give examples. 10.2m I can make a suggestion and give examples.


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I can ask appropriate questions to clarify my understanding on areas which are unclear and relay information that I have obtained by adding brief related comments.


11.1a I can, with support, ask a simple question to request clarification.

11.2a I can ask a number of simple questions to request clarification, using generally correct language.

11.3a I can probe fluently and accurately for more information and clarification through a series of questions.

11.1b I can, with support, reply to other speakers when they express an opinion.

11.2b I can express my own view in response to other speakers’ opinions.

11.3b I can respond appropriately to the questions and views of others.

11.1c I can, with support, answer short questions about what I heard/read.

11.2c I can recount the main points of what I heard/read.

11.3c I can act as rapporteur in a situation where information is exchanged.

11.1d I can, with support, give feedback by providing an appropriate response in a straight forward manner.

11.2d I can give feedback by providing an appropriate response in some detail.

11.3d I can give feedback by providing an appropriate response in detail.

11.1e I can, with support, respond to other speakers in a brief dialogue.

11.2e I can participate in a dialogue and respect the rules of turn taking.

11.3e I can engage in a discussion by following the rules of turn management.

11.1f I can, with support, explain why I agree/disagree with a point of view regarding a topic in a discussion.

11.2f I can offer possible suggestions in a discussion where different points of view are being presented.

11.3f I can synthesise the discussion by restating the main points of view.

11.1g I can, with support, speak briefly about the bias I detect in a speech.

11.2g I can report on bias in the reporting of others.

11.3g I can challenge other views where appropriate.


Page 22 of 158



I can, while producing continuous speech, use appropriate, precise and correct language while focusing on intelligibility.


12.1a I can, with support, use language appropriate to a small number of limited contexts.

12.2a I can use language appropriate to a limited number of contexts.

12.3a I can use language appropriate to various contexts.

12.1b I can, with support, be intelligible in my spoken production.

12.1c I can, with support, use simple structures accurately.

12.2c I can use basic structures accurately and with ease.

12.3c I can use a range of structures accurately and with ease.

12.1d I can, with support, produce simple utterances, which may constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g. ellipses), are quite well controlled and show some evidence of fluency.

12.2d I can produce basic utterances, which may constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g. chunks and ellipses), are mostly well controlled and show some evidence of fluency.

12.3d I can produce utterances, which may constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g. chunks, clusters and ellipses), are well controlled and show some evidence of fluency.

12.1e I can, with support, use a simple range of grammatical structures which are quite well controlled.

12.2e I can use a limited range of grammatical structures which are mostly well controlled.

12.3e I can use varied grammatical structures dominated by chained clauses, and sentence patterns which are consistently well controlled.


Page 23 of 158

Subject Focus: Language Awareness


I can be consistent in my use of tense, voice, mood, person and number.


13.1a I can, with support, use simple and compound sentences.

13.2a I can use complex sentences.

13.2b I can identify a particular use of sentence structure tense, voice, mood, person and number e.g. by giving quotations.

13.3b I can comment on the particular use of sentence structure, tense, voice, mood, person and number.

13.1c I can, with support, use short utterances/sentences that are consistent tense, voice, mood, person and number.

13.2c I can use the correct tense, voice, mood, person and number consistently.


Page 24 of 158



I can demonstrate my understanding of how words behave together by using these patterns in context.


14.1a I can, with support, identify words which are homonyms, homophones, homographs and heteronyms.

14.2a I can use the correct homonyms, homophones, homographs and heteronyms correctly when I write simple, compound and complex sentences.

14.1b I can, with support, use simple collocations. 14.2b I can use basic chunks of language and idiomatic expressions.

14.3b I can use complex chunks of language and idiomatic expressions.

14.1c I can, with support, identify basic rhetorical devices e.g. transitional expressions.

14.2c I can use a limited range of rhetorical devices e.g. signposting.

14.3c I can use a wide range of rhetorical devices e.g. parallelism, list of three, questions.


Page 25 of 158



I can produce various forms of discourse.


15.1a I can, with support, identify the purpose and the target audience in a given text.

15.2a I can determine the purpose and the target audience in a given text.

15.3a I can clearly show the specific purpose and the target audience which relate to a social context.

15.1b I can, with support, identify the discourse markers in a given text.

15.2b I can determine the discourse markers that best fit the context in a given text.

15.3b I can use appropriate discourse markers consistently in speech and writing.

15.1c I can, with support, identify the meaning of a word.

15.2c I can, with support, describe the language used in a sentence/utterance.

15.3c I can discuss the language used in specific contexts e.g. reference to sentence length, repetition.

15.1d I can, with support, distinguish between fact and opinion.

15.2d I can provide information from at least one source to compile a short oral/written report.

15.3d I can provide information from different sources to compile a short oral/written report.

15.1e I can, with support, make use of informal register.

15.2e I can use formal or informal register appropriate to the task.

15.3e I can use register appropriate to the given context.

15.1f I can, with support, identify features of language which show comparison and contrast.

15.2f I can make use of language to compare and contrast.

15.1g I can, with support, narrate and describe by using short sentences/utterances.

15.2g I can argue in a limited and controlled manner in writing/speaking.

15.3g I can make use of exposition in writing/speaking.


Page 26 of 158

Scheme of Assessment

The assessment consists of coursework and controlled assessment. The four language skills carry the following

weighting: Speaking 15%, Listening 15%, Reading 35%, Writing 35%. Speaking, Reading and Writing will be assessed

through coursework and controlled assessment while Listening will be assessed through coursework alone. Language

awareness and production will be assessed through Speaking and Writing.

An overview of the coursework assignments and percentage weightings is shown in the table below:

The assessment consists of:

Coursework: 30% of the total mark; comprising 3 tasks of equal weighting i.e. 10% each set during the three-year

programme.

Coursework can be pegged at either of two categories:

Coursework at MQF level categories 1-2 must identify assessment criteria from these two MQF levels. The

Assessment Criteria are to be weighted within the assignment's scheme of work and marking scheme at a ratio

of 40% at Level 1 and 60% at Level 2.

Coursework at MQF level categories 1-2-3 must identify assessment criteria from each of Levels 1, 2, and 3.

These Assessment Criteria are to be weighted within the assignment’s scheme of work and marking scheme

at a ratio of 30% at each of Levels 1 and 2 and 40% at Level 3.

Controlled assessments: 70% of the total mark; comprising of a ten-minute oral exam and a two-hour written exam,

set at the end of the three-year programme and differentiated between two tiers:

a. MQF levels 1 and 2;

b. MQF levels 2 and 3.

The controlled assessment will be based on all the Learning Outcomes pertaining to the following skills: Speaking,

Reading and Writing. An overview of the controlled assessment is shown in the table below:

Skill Percentage in

Coursework

Percentage in

Controlled

Assessment

Total

Listening 15% 0 15%

Speaking 5% 10% 15%

Reading 5% 30% 35%

Writing 5% 30% 35%


Page 27 of 158

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT MQF 1-2

SECTION COMPONENT TASK MARKS DURATION

2hrs 10 mins

70

% C

on

tro

lled

Ass

essm

en

t

Speaking Long Turn 100 10 minutes

10

min

A Reading Continuous/non-continuous

text 30 40 minutes 2

-Ho

ur P

aper

B Reading Continuous/non-continuous

text 30 35 minutes

C Writing Short /guided writing task 10

45 minutes Long writing task 30

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT MQF 2-3


2hrs 10 mins

70

% C

on

tro

lled

Ass

ess

me

nt

Speaking Long Turn 100 10 minutes

10

min

A Reading Continuous/non-continuous

text 30 40 minutes

2-H

ou

r Pap

er

B Reading

Continuous/non-continuous

text

30 35 minutes

C Writing Long writing task 40 45 minutes

The coursework will be based on all the Learning Outcomes. An overview of the coursework assignments is shown in

the table below:

Part 1: Coursework – Category Levels 1-2 /1-2-3

Assignment 1*

(10 %)

Assignment 2*

(10 %)

Assignment 3

(10 %)

Working with a Narrative

100 marks

Narrative Writing1 (including

Process Writing)

100 marks

Note-taking and Discussion

100 marks

Figure 1: Coursework Assignments for School Candidates

* compulsory coursework assignment

1 narrative text type assessed in coursework only


Page 28 of 158

Private Candidates

Private candidates shall be assessed by means of two controlled assessments.

The first controlled assessment (Paper 1) will focus on the learning outcomes identified for school candidates’

coursework. The second controlled assessment (Paper 2) is common with school candidates. An overview of the

Private Candidate’s Paper is shown in the tables below:

Private Candidate’s Paper 1 MQF1-2


2hrs 10 mins

30

% o

f th

e gl

ob

al m

ark

Speaking

Warmer (not assessed)

100

(5%) 10 minutes

10

min

Role Play

Guided Teacher-to-Student

conversation

A Listening Text 1 50

(15%) 40 minutes

2-H

ou

r Pap

er

Text 2

B Reading Continuous text 25

(5%) 40 minutes

C Writing

Long writing task

25

(5%) 40 minutes

Figure 2: Scheme of Assessment, Levels 1 – 2 (private candidates)

Private Candidate’s Paper 1 MQF 2-3


2hrs 10 mins

30

% o

f th

e gl

ob

al m

ark

Speaking

Warmer (not assessed)

100

(5%) 10 minutes

10

min

Role Play

Guided Teacher-to-Student

conversation

A Listening Text 1 50

(15%) 40 minutes 2

-Ho

ur P

aper

Text 2

B Reading Continuous text 25

(5%) 40 minutes


Page 29 of 158

C Writing

Long writing task

25

(5%) 40 minutes

Figure 3: Scheme of Assessment, Levels 2-3 (private candidates)


Page 30 of 158

Coursework Assignment 1 MQF 1-2-3

Working with a narrative (100 marks)

This assignment assesses MQF Level 1, 2 and 3. The Learning Outcomes relevant to this

assignment are:

LO 1 I can write different text types coherently using cohesive devices when necessary.

LO 2 I can write accurately and appropriately across genres for different purpose and

audience.

LO 4 I can show understanding, retrieve and select information when I react to a different

range of genres and age-appropriate texts written for different purpose and

audience.

LO 5 I can make use of interpretation, inference and deduction.

LO 6 I can understand text organisation and structure and recognise different techniques

used by writer/s.

LO 7 I can understand what people say to me in various situations.

LO 8 I can understand and take notes of continuous speech while listening for gist and

subsidiary ideas.

LO 9 I can listen to a conversation, presentation or dramatic performance and summarise

overt messages as well as the sub-text of motivation and bias.

This assignment is made up of two components which focus on specific skills: reading and listening. The

reading and listening texts are taken from different parts of the same story so that the characters are

common to both. The first component requires students to read a text and answer questions about it.

In the second component, students will listen to another part of the same story and answer questions

about it.

Component 1 –

Reading

This section should include reading a text in two sections and

answering questions about it.

E.g. of text:

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

Component 2-

Listening

This section should include listening to a text in two sections taken

from the same story and answering questions about it.


Page 31 of 158

Assignment 1 MQF 1-2-3

(100 marks)

Component Mark obtained

1 ___/25

2 ___ /20

Total (___/45)*100


Page 32 of 158


Reading (25 marks)

Read the following extract and answer the questions about each section.

Section 1

Kralefsky lived in the top storeys of an old mansion that stood on the outskirts of the town. I climbed

the wide staircase and knocked hard on the front door. I waited, feeling angry at myself and digging

the heel of my shoe into the wine-red carpet with considerable violence; presently, just as I was about

to knock again, there came the soft pad of footsteps, and the front door opened wide to reveal my

new tutor. 5

I decided immediately that Kralefsky was not a human being but a gnome who had disguised himself

as one by donning an antiquated but very dapper suit. He had an egg-shaped head with flattened

sides that were tilted back against a smoothly rounded hump-back. This gave him the appearance of

being permanently in the middle of shrugging his shoulders. A long nose curved out of his face, and

his large eyes, hidden behind his spectacles, were of a pale sherry colour. They had a fixed, faraway 10

look in them, as though their owner were just waking up out of a trance. His wide, thin mouth managed

to combine primness with humour, and now it was stretched across his face in a smile of welcome

showing even but discoloured teeth.

‘Gerry Durrell?’ he asked, bobbing like a sparrow and flapping his bony hands at me. ‘Through here;

this is the room we shall work in,’ fluted Kralefsky, throwing open a door and ushering me to sit at a 15

table. He leaned over and smiled at me in a vague way. I smiled back, not knowing quite what he

expected.

‘Friends!’ he exclaimed, ‘it is important that we are friends. I am quite, quite certain we will become

friends, aren’t you?’

I nodded seriously, biting the inside of my cheeks to prevent myself from smiling. 20

‘Friendship,’ he murmured, shutting his eyes in ecstasy at the thought. ‘Friendship! That’s the ticket!’

His lips moved silently, and I wondered if he was praying, perhaps for me, himself, or both of us. ‘Yes,

yes, that’s it,’ he said firmly; ‘I’m sure we shall be friends. Your mother tells me that you have a great

love of natural history. This gives us something in common straight away… a bond, as it were, eh?


Page 33 of 158

Answer the following questions:

1. Which house did Kralefsky live in? Tick () the correct box below. (½ mark)

2. Underline the correct answer. (½ mark)

While he was waiting outside the door, Gerry felt (excited, annoyed, bored, afraid).

3. Are the following True or False? Circle the correct answer and give a reason. (3 marks)

a) Kralefsky lived in a part of the house.

True/False because____________________________________________________________

b) Gerry did not hear any sounds coming from inside the house.


c) Gerry thought Kralefsky looked like an ordinary person.


4. Underline the correct answer: (1 mark)

a) ‘…with considerable violence’ (line 3). In this phrase, considerable means (a great deal, a small

amount, none at all).

b) The writer makes use of the word ‘antiquated’ (line 7) to make Kralefsky seem (cute, odd, old).

5. Which of the following is Kralefsky? Tick () the correct box below. (½ mark)


Page 34 of 158

6. Explain how the writer’s use of the phrase ‘managed to combine primness with humour’ (line 12),

helps the reader understand what Kralefsky is like. (2 marks)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

7. Tick the correct answer. (½ mark)

‘…his bony hands..’ (line 14)

The word bony is

8. Why did Gerry not want Mr Kralefsky to see that he was smiling (line 20)? (1 mark)

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

9. ‘I wondered if he was praying, perhaps for me, himself or for us.’ (line 22) Why did Gerry think that

Kralefsky might need to pray for himself?

(1 mark)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Neutral

Positive

Negative


Page 35 of 158

Section 2

He led the way up a staircase and paused in front of a green door. He produced a bunch of keys that 20

jangled musically as he searched for the right one; he inserted it, twisted it round and drew open the

heavy door. A dazzle of sunlight poured out of the room, blinding me, and with it came a deafening

chorus of bird song; it was as though Kralefsky had opened the gates of Paradise in the grubby corridor

at the top of his house. The attic was vast, stretching away across the whole top of the house. The

walls were linked, from floor to ceiling, with row upon row of big cages containing dozens of fluttering, 25

chirruping birds.

Fascinated by this mass of birds, I edged round the room, pausing to gaze into each cage, while

Kralefsky seized a watering-can from the table and danced nimbly from cage to cage, filling water-

pots.

‘I wonder if you would care to assist?’ he asked, the can drooping in his hand. ‘A task like this is so 30

much easier if two pairs of hands work at it, I always think. Now, if you hold the watering-can…so…I

will hold out the pots to be filled….excellent! That’s the ticket! We shall accomplish this in no time at

all!

So, while I filled the little pots with water, Kralefsky took them carefully between finger and thumb

and inserted them through the cage doors, as though he were popping sweets into a child’s mouth. 35

Eventually the watering was done, and Kralefsky stood surveying his birds, smiling to himself and

wiping his hands on a small towel. Then he led me round the room, pausing before each cage to give

me an account of the bird’s history, and what he hoped to do with it. We were examining a bullfinch,

when suddenly a loud, ringing sound rose above the clamour of bird song. To my astonishment the

noise appeared to emanate from somewhere inside Kralefsky’s stomach. 40

‘By Jove!’ he exclaimed in horror.

He inserted finger and thumb into his waistcoat and drew out his watch. He depressed a tiny lever

and the ringing sound ceased. I was a little disappointed that the noise should have such a

commonplace source; to have a tutor whose inside chimed at intervals would, I felt, have added

greatly to the charm of the lessons. Kralefsky peered at the watch and then screwed up his face in 45

disgust.

‘Twelve o’clock already…Dear me, and you leave at half-past, don’t you?’

‘Well,’ he said at last, ‘we cannot achieve any scholastic advancement in half an hour. Therefore, I

suggest we go into the garden and pick some groundsel for the birds.

So we went into the garden until Spiro’s car honked its way down the street like a wounded duck. 50

(Adapted from My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell)


Page 36 of 158


10a. What strikes Gerry when he enters the attic? (1 mark)

_____________________________________________________________________________

b. How does Gerry feel once he’s inside the attic? (1 mark)

_____________________________________________________________________________

11. What do the following refer to in the text? (3 marks)

a) that (line 20) _______________________________

b) this (line 27) _______________________________

c) it (line 31) _______________________________

d) them (line 34) _______________________________

e) my (line 39) _______________________________

f) its (line 50) _______________________________

12. Between lines 27 and 46, find a word which means: (2 marks)

a) gracefully __________________________________

b) examining _________________________________

c) come out _________________________________

d) ordinary __________________________________

13. Between lines 27 and 40, pick out two phrases which show how well Kralefsky took care of his

birds. Explain how each of these phrases bring out this idea for the reader. (3 marks)

a) phrase _______________________________________________________________

explanation ________________________________________________________________

b) phrase ________________________________________________________________

explanation _________________________________________________________________


Page 37 of 158

14. Explain what Gerry means by the words in bold in ‘to have a tutor whose inside chimed at intervals

would, I felt, have added to the charm of the lessons.’ (line 44-45) (3 marks)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Read both sections and answer the following question:

15. Number the sentences 1-4 below in the order in which you read about them in the extract. The first

(0) has been done for you. (2 marks)

a. Kralefsky tells Gerry all about his birds.

b. Kralefsky shows Gerry where they'll be working.

c. Kralefsky shows Gerry to the attic.

d. Gerry arrives at Kralefsky’s house. 0

e. Kralefsky asks Gerry for help.


Page 38 of 158

Assessment Criteria – Reading

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

4.1n

I can, with support,

accurately decode a

text to read for

meaning.

4.2n

I can use a range of

strategies, including

accurate decoding of a

text, to read for meaning.

6.3c

I can analyse the effect of

the writer’s choice of

language in a text.

5.1b

I can, with support,

make use of clues

and prior knowledge

to infer meaning

from a text.

4.2g I can scan more complex

texts. 5.2g

I can deduce meaning

from complex contexts.

5.1e

I can distinguish

between positive and

negative connotation

in words used in a

simple text.

4.2f I can skim more complex

texts. 5.3b

I can make use of subtle

clues to make inferences

about the layers of

meaning in a text.

4.1h

I can identify simple

anaphoric references

in texts.

4.2h

I can identify anaphoric

and cataphoric references

in texts.

5.3b

I can make use of subtle

clues to make inferences

about the layers of

meaning in a text.


Page 39 of 158


Listening (20 marks)

Procedure for the Listening Comprehension:

Candidates are given three minutes to read all the questions.

Candidates listen to the Part 1 and can start answering the questions.

Candidates are given two minutes to answer the questions about Part 1.

Candidates listen to Part 2 and can start answering the questions.


Candidates listen to Part 1 and Part 2 for the last time.

Candidates are given three minutes to answer all the questions.

Candidates are allowed to write during all the parts of the Listening Comprehension.

Transcript:

Part 1

I had worked for some weeks with Kralesfsky before I discovered that he did not live alone. At intervals

during the morning he would pause suddenly, in the middle of a sum or recitation of country towns, and

cock his head on one side, as if listening.

‘Excuse me a moment,’ he would say. ‘I must go and see Mother.’

At first this rather puzzled me, for I was convinced that Kralefsky was far too old to have a mother still

living. After considerable thought, I came to the conclusion that this was merely his polite way of saying

that he wished to retire to the lavatory, for I realised that not everyone shared my family’s lack of

embarrassment when discussing this topic. It never occurred to me that, if this was so, Kralefsky closeted

himself more often than any other human being I had met. One morning I had consumed for breakfast

a large quantity of loquats, and they had distressing effects on me when we were in the middle of a

history lesson. Since Kralefsky was so finicky about the subject of lavatories I decided I would have to

phrase my request politely, so I thought it best to adopt his own curious term. I looked him firmly in the

eye and said I would like to pay a visit to his mother.

‘My mother?’ he repeated in astonishment. ‘Visit my mother? Now?’

I could not see what the fuss was about, so I merely nodded.

‘Well,’ he said doubtfully, ‘I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you, of course, but I’d better just go and

see if it’s convenient.’

He left the room, still looking a trifle puzzled, and returned after a few minutes.

‘Mother would be delighted to see you,’ he announced, ‘but she says will you please excuse her being a

little untidy?’

I thought it was carrying politeness to an extreme to talk about the lavatory as if it were a human being,

but since Kralefsky was obviously a bit eccentric on the subject, I felt I had better humour him, I said I

did not mind a bit if his mother was in a mess, as ours frequently was as well.

‘Ah….er…yes, yes, I expect so,’ he murmured, giving me rather a startled glance.


Page 40 of 158

Part 2

He led me down a corridor, opened a door, and, to my complete surprise, ushered me into a large

shadowy bedroom. The room was a forest of flowers; vases, bowls, and pots were perched everywhere,

and each contained a mass of beautiful blooms that shone in the gloom, like walls of jewels in a green-

shadowed cave. At one end of the room was an enormous bed, and in it, propped up on a heap of pillows,

lay a tiny figure not much bigger than a child. She must have been very old, I decided as we drew nearer,

for her fine, delicate features were covered with a network of wrinkles that grooved a skin as soft and

velvety-looking as a baby mushroom’s. But the astonishing thing about her was her hair. It fell over her

shoulders in a thick cascade, and then spread half way down the bed. It was the richest and most

beautiful auburn colour imaginable, glinting and shining as though on fire, making me think of autumn

leaves and the brilliant winter coat of a fox.

‘Mother dear,’ Kralefsky called softly bobbing across the room and seating himself on a chair by the bed,

‘Mother dear, here’s Gerry come to see you.’

The minute figure on the bed lifted thin, pale lids and looked at me with great tawny eyes that were as

bright and intelligent as a bird’s. She lifted a slender, beautifully shaped hand, weighed down with rings,

from the depths of the auburn tresses and held it out to me, smiling mischievously.

‘I am so very flattered that you asked to see me,’ she said in a soft, husky voice. ‘So many people

nowadays consider a person of my age a bore.’

Embarrassed, I muttered something, and the bright eyes looked at me, twinkling, and gave a fluting

blackbird laugh, and patted the bed with her hand.

‘Do sit down,’ she invited; ‘do sit down and talk for a minute.

(My Family and Other Animals (Chapter 14) by Gerald Durrell (4:33))


Page 41 of 158

Assignment 1 MQF 1-2-3: Listening task (20 marks)

Listen to the extract from the audio book My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell in which Gerry

is the narrator. Answer the questions which follow.

Part 1

1. Fill in the grid below with the name of the character: Gerry, Mr Kralefsky, Mother. (6 marks)

a) often seemed to be listening to something

b) often interrupted lessons to go somewhere

c) had a big breakfast

d) learnt history

e) fussy about the subject of bathrooms

f) looked untidy

2. Underline the correct answer. (6 marks)

a) Gerry (immediately, eventually, never) thought that Kralefsky went to the bathroom when he

said he needed to visit Mother.

b) Gerry’s family (didn’t mind, felt awkward, couldn’t stand) talking about going to the bathroom.

c) Gerry asked to see Mother because he (was bored of the history lesson, was curious to see her,

wanted to be polite).

d) Gerry thought he asked Kralefsky to go to the bathroom (crossly, politely, sarcastically).

e) Kralefsky was (annoyed, interested, surprised) when Gerry asked him to visit his mother.

f) Gerry says that his mother was often (well-dressed, scruffy, neat) when she was at home too.

Part 2

3. Are the following sentences True or False? Circle the correct answer and give a reason. (5 marks)

a) Gerry went into a small bedroom.


b) Mother was a small woman.


c) Mrs Kralefsky had short hair.


d) Mother’s hair was reddish-brown in colour.

True/False because ___________________________________________________________

e) Mother was pleased that Gerry had asked to see her.



Page 42 of 158

4. Put the following in order according to the text. Number them from 1 to 3. The first one (0) has

been done for you.

(3 marks)

Gerry notices Mother’s hair. 0

Kralefsky introduces Gerry to Mother.

Mother invites Gerry to talk to her.

Gerry speaks to Mother.


Page 43 of 158

Assessment Criteria - Listening

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

8.1e

I can, with support, listen for

specific information in a

talk/speech/conversation

about a familiar topic.

7.2b

I can follow

descriptions which are

moderately complex in

terms of linguistic,

thematic and lexical

content.

8.3b

I can infer meaning when

I follow a talk/speech

about a wide range of

topics.

8.1f

I can, with support, follow a

sequence of

events/instructions/directions.

8.2c

I can understand

clusters of words in

continuous speech.

8.3c

I can understand clusters

of words in complex

continuous speech.

8.2d

I can follow spoken

texts that include a

wide range of

vocabulary and

language structures.

8.3d

I can listen for specific

information in a

talk/speech/conversation

about a wide range of

familiar topics.


Page 44 of 158


Narrative Writing (including Process Writing) (100 marks)


assignment are:

LO 1 I can write different text types coherently using cohesive devices when necessary.

LO 2 I can write accurately and appropriately across genres for different purpose and

audience.

LO 3 I can plan, draft and revise my own writing.

This assignment is made up of various components which focus on writing a narrative. The different

stages of the writing process are given importance in this coursework namely: planning, drafting, proof

reading and presentation of final product. The essay format suggested for MQF 1-2-3 is the five-

paragraph essay: introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. The essay format suggested for

MQF 1-2 is the three-paragraph essay: Introduction, 1 body paragraph and a conclusion. The word

count below is included as a guideline:

A minimum of 150 words for MQF 1-2.

A maximum of 300 words for MQF 1-2-3.

Component 1 –

Planning

This section should give the students preparation time to draw up a plan

for their essay. They need to be reminded the Learning Outcome for the

assignment and the essay title. The plan is submitted to the teacher at the

end of the lesson.

Component 2 –

Writing Body

paragraphs

This section should include the writing of the body paragraph/s in relation

to the title given. Notions of what makes a good paragraph should be

presented to students prior to this component. The paragraphs need to be

submitted to the teacher.

Component 3 –

Writing Introduction

and Conclusion

This section should focus on the writing of effective introductory and

concluding paragraphs. These need to be submitted to the teacher.

Component 4 –

Putting together a

first draft and proof

reading

This section asks the students to use the material they prepared in the first

three components in order to put together a first draft of their essay. Time

for reviewing and improvement should be allowed. All the components are

submitted to the teacher for the final assessment.


Page 45 of 158


(100 marks)


1 ___/100

Total (____/100)


Page 46 of 158

Marking Criteria – Writing a Narrative (including Process Writing) Rating Scale (based on 100 marks)

100 marks MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 2 MQF 1

Process

Writing

Students’ work typically

shows evidence of:


shows evidence of:


shows evidence of these:





20-16 15-12 11-8 7-4 3-0

Ideas generated

Ideas generated show a clear focus on the topic.

Ideas generated showed mostly clear focus on the topic.

Ideas generated showed a partial focus on the topic.

Ideas generated showed they were not immediately focused on the topic / statement.

Ideas generated showed minimal focus (if at all) on the topic.

20-16 15-12 11-8 7-4 3-0

Organisation

of ideas

Selected points are

organised clearly.

Selected points are

organised quite clearly.

Some of the selected points

are organised clearly.

Selected points show some

level of organisation.

Selected points show

minimal organisation.

20-16 15-12 11-8 7-4 3-0

Task

Achievement

Task is achieved in full;

content is completely

relevant; features of a

narrative are entirely

appropriate.

Task is mostly achieved;

content is mostly relevant;

features of a narrative are

mostly appropriate.

Task is adequately

achieved; content is

relevant; features of a

narrative are fairly

appropriate.

Task is partly achieved;

content is underdeveloped;


minimally appropriate.

Task is not achieved;

content is irrelevant;


inappropriate.

20-16 15-12 11-8 7-4 3-0

Editing with changes remaining visible

Editing appears with a

clear focus on logical progression from one idea / point / sentence / paragraph to another.

Editing appears with quite a

clear focus on logical progression from one idea / point / sentence / paragraph to another.

Editing appears with a

relatively clear focus on logical progression from one idea / point / sentence / paragraph to another.

Editing appears with a some

focus on logical progression from one idea / point / sentence / paragraph to another.

Editing appears with

minimal focus (if at all) on logical progression from one idea / point / sentence / paragraph to another.

20-16 15-12 11-8 7-4 3-0

Proof

reading

Proof reading clearly

focuses on writing

conventions (spelling and

punctuation), grammar,

choice of vocabulary and

register, and appropriate

cohesive links.

Proof reading is mostly

focused on writing




register, and appropriate

cohesive links.

Proof reading quite focused

on writing conventions

(spelling and punctuation),

grammar, choice of

vocabulary and register, and

appropriate cohesive links.

Proof reading shows some

focus on writing conventions

(spelling and punctuation),

grammar, choice of

vocabulary and register, and

appropriate cohesive links.

Proof reading shows minimal

focus (if at all) on writing




register.


Page 47 of 158

Assessment Criteria – Writing

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

1.1a

I can write paragraphs by

organising sentences which

contain logical ideas.

1.2a

I can organise information and

ideas with clear, logical

progression from one

paragraph to another.

1.3a

I can sequence information

and ideas logically from one

paragraph to another and in

relation to the whole.

1.1b I can use a limited range of

grammatical cohesive devices. 1.2b

I can use a basic range of

lexical and grammatical

cohesive devices.

1.3b

I can use an extensive range

of lexical and grammatical

cohesive devices.

1.1c

I can produce simple texts

using different text types e.g.

narrative, descriptive and

discursive.

1.2c

I can produce basic texts using

different text types e.g.


discursive.

1.3c

I can produce cohesive texts

using different text types e.g.


discursive.

1.1d

I can produce simple text

structures e.g. sequence,

problem and solution.

1.2d

I can produce basic text

structures e.g. description,

cause and effect, compare and

contrast, sequence, problem

and solution.

1.3d

I can produce complex text

structures e.g. description,

cause and effect, compare and

contrast, sequence, problem

and solution.

2.1a

I can spell high frequency

grammatical function words

and common content words.

2.2a

I can spell some grammatical

function words and content

words.

2.3a

I can spell most grammatical

function words and low

frequency words.

2.1c

I can make use of grammatical

structures with some control of

agreement.

2.2c I can make use of basic

grammatical structures. 2.3c

I can make use of complex

grammatical structures.

2.1d I can construct simple and

basic compound sentences. 2.2d

I can construct compound and

basic sentences. 2.3d

I can construct a variety of

complex sentences.

2.1f

I can use a limited range of

vocabulary specific to the

context.

2.2f

I can use a good range of

vocabulary specific to the

context.

2.3f

I can make use of a wide

range of context specific

lexical features to convey

meaning in writing.

2.1g I can make use of informal

register in my writing. 2.2g

I can make use of formal

register generally in my

writing.

2.3g

I can make use of formal

register consistently in my

writing.

3.1a I can complete a simple plan

before I start writing. 3.2a

I can produce a basic plan

before I start writing. 3.3a

I can produce an effective plan

to help me structure my

writing effectively.

3.1b I can make changes to words

after analysing my first draft. 3.2b

I can make changes to words

and sentences after analysing

my first draft.

3.3b

I can make changes to words,

sentences and paragraphs


3.1c

I can, with support, edit

punctuation, grammar and

spelling in my own writing.

3.2c

I can edit punctuation,

grammar and spelling in my

own writing.

3.3c I can revise coherence in my

own writing.


Page 48 of 158


Note-taking and discussion (100 marks)


assignment are

LO 7 I can understand what people say to me in various situations.

LO 8 I can understand and take notes of continuous speech while listening for gist and

subsidiary ideas.

LO 9 I can listen to a conversation, a presentation or dramatic performance and summarise

the overt messages as well as the sub-text of motivation and bias.

LO 10 I can adapt my style to familiar situations, observing the appropriate use of register

and vocabulary while stating what I think and giving my reasons.

This assignment is made up of two components which focus on specific skills: listening and speaking. The

first component requires students to listen to a podcast and answer questions about it. The second

component requires students to take on a role and participate in a discussion based on the topic in the

podcast.

Component 1 – Listening This section should include a listening text and questions e.g. of

text ‘Let’s talk about…Artificial Intelligence.’1

Component 2 – Speaking This section should include a discussion on the same topic as the

listening. Students are given 5 minutes to prepare themselves

for the discussion. They are given a written prompt to help them

in the discussion.

Students may choose to use the checklist below to guide them

in the planning and delivery of their role play.

Focus on how you participate in the role play by:

Listening attentively to the question/requesting

clarification/requesting repetition.

Asking the question/request clarification/requesting

repetition from another student taking part in the role

play exercise.

Pausing appropriately.

Varying your tone.

Speaking clearly.

Projecting your voice.

Using body language.

Establishing eye contact.

Following the rules of turn taking. Focus on what you are

discussing and:

Choose appropriate vocabulary.

Use appropriate register.

Pay attention to grammar use.


Page 49 of 158

Make use of appropriate words/phrases for opening and

closing, and for linking ideas.

Remain focused on topic.

Give reasons to support your view/reply.

Wait for your turn to speak.

Manage your time well.

(Source:https://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2018/sep/04/we-need-to-talk-about-impact-artificial-intelligence-

podcast-technology (4:06))


(100 marks)


1 ___/20

2 ___ /60

Total (____/80)*100

https://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2018/sep/04/we-need-to-talk-about-impact-artificial-intelligence-podcast-technology

https://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2018/sep/04/we-need-to-talk-about-impact-artificial-intelligence-podcast-technology


Page 50 of 158

Assignment 3 (MQF 1-2-3)

Listening (20 marks)

Procedure for the Listening Comprehension Task:


Candidates listen to the podcast for the first time and can start answering questions.

Candidates are given three minutes to answer the questions.

Candidates listen to the podcast for the second and last time.

Candidates are given another three minutes to answer the questions.

Candidates are allowed to write during all parts of the Listening Comprehension.

Transcript:

The Guardian – We need to talk about the impact of Artificial Intelligence.

Presenter: Hello and welcome to, ‘We need to talk about the impact of Artificial Intelligence’, the latest of

our monthly podcasts in which Guardian journalists and industry experts delve into a topic suggested by

Guardian supporters and answer their questions on it. I’m Lee Glendinning, executive editor for Membership

of the Guardian and we’ve been urged by many of our supporters to have this conversation about Artificial

Intelligence.

So what do you think will be the skills that will be most in demand in this new world that we’re talking about

here when we think about AI often being labelled as the 4th Industrial Revolution?

Speaker 1: I’m tempted with my tongue in my cheek to say we’ve got an ageing population and increasing

technology. So explaining how to use the technology to half the population will be very in demand. That’s

me being a little bit cynical. Ehm, the ones that will be less in demand will be the routine things and this is

where, I think, AI is repeating what robotics has already done for industry… that there are very few jobs

now that rely on sheer physical, muscle power and the ones that do, tend to also rely on skill and creativity

and in the same way as mechanisation has taken over those, I think AI will take over the very routine jobs

like data entry and accounting but not the ones that actually involve thinking about how to use it and why

we’re using it – and more strategic level jobs. I’m a bit worried now that I’m coming across a bit of a Luddite.

I actually think we should embrace a lot of this automation much more because one of the ways we could

help ourselves have higher productivity and a more growing economy and therefore, be in a position to

generate new, exciting industries, would be in fact to have more automation.

New jobs could be created – it’s really hard to predict what. Just as in…you know, the start of the 20th

century, nobody predicted that aviation would be an international industry that employs millions of people

directly and indirectly. They just thought, ‘Oh, there are those rich, crazy people, flying those machines

around again’ and it’s really hard to point and say, ‘Here’s a skill that you should definitely try and develop

because your job will be safe’. Being flexible, creative, adaptable, imaginative…

Presenter: All those vital things…

Speaker 1: All those vital things, which also, by coincidence, make you an interesting human being.

Presenter: Yes…

Speaker 2: We tend to think of certain jobs being safe because of how hard it is for existing computer

systems either to compute what needs to be computed or to enact what needs to be enacted. So you know,

it’s quite hard to get a robot to fix a broken sink, because plumbing is a very tricky, dexterous job. Now,

what that misses out is that you can change the job, it’s not only that you have to make the computing and


Page 51 of 158

the robotics all fit things that humans do, because all of those jobs exist because humans are the way they

are, and all those jobs are designed to be done by humans. You don’t then have to go and design a robot

to do it exactly the way a human does it. It’s exactly why a driverless car won’t just drive the way a human

drives, it will hopefully use a lot more intelligence that’s actually out on the street rather than in the car…it

won’t work in the same way. So you could actually see how a lot of these jobs that people think are

completely safe... because ah, it’s really hard to get a robot to do that, will…actually….change what the job

is, although it achieves the same aim i.e. the working sink, or something like that.

Presenter: I hope you found that conversation was really fascinating. I’d like to thank the panel…

(Source: The Guardian (4:06))


Page 52 of 158

Assignment 3 MQF 1-2-3 (20 marks)

Listen to a podcast on the Guardian newspaper website about Artificial Intelligence (AI).

1. Underline the correct answer in brackets based on what you have listened to. (6 marks)

a. The podcast is about the (effects, risks, benefits) of artificial intelligence.

b. This is the (first, most recent, last) podcast in the series.

c. According to the speaker, the change made by AI has been (negligible, small, drastic).

d. There will be (great, little, no) need for people whose job it is to explain the new

technology.

e. The speaker thinks that AI is (copying, contradicting, studying) what robotics has done

for industry.

f. AI will (replace, create, increase) routine jobs.

2. Fill the missing information into the grid below. (6 marks)

The part of the population that will need instruction in technology

A routine job that will be taken over by AI

The century in which aviation became popular

The number of people that the speaker believes are employed in the flight

industry

A job which requires being good with one’s hands

The number of speakers in the podcast including the presenter

3. Are the following statements True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason

according to what you have listened to the speakers say. (8 marks)

a. The interviewer posed questions by industry experts.


b. Only a few Guardian supporters have shown interest in AI.


c. The speaker is confident about getting people to understand the use of A.I.

True/ False because ___________________________________________________________

d. According to the speaker, we should welcome having more machines.


e. According to the speaker, nobody thought that aviation would be a worldwide success.



Page 53 of 158

f. According to the speaker, being flexible is the most important skill to prepare you for a future job.


g. According to the speaker, current computer systems cannot carry out some jobs.


h. According to the speaker, robots in driverless cars do more than humans do.



Page 54 of 158

Assessment Criteria - Listening

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

7.1a I can follow simple

utterances when they are

clearly articulated and

intelligible by providing

suitable evidence.

7.2a I can follow spoken

language when it is

clearly articulated and

intelligible.

9.3a I can understand clusters of

words in complex continuous

speech.

7.1b I can follow descriptions

which are simple in terms

of linguistic, thematic and

lexical content.

9.3b I can follow spoken texts

that include a wide range of

vocabulary and complex


7.1c I can follow a discussion

which is simple in terms of

linguistic, thematic and

lexical content.

8.2a I can follow general and

subsidiary ideas in a

talk/speech about a

familiar topic.

10.3a I can follow spoken texts

that include a wide range of

vocabulary and complex


8.2b I can infer meaning

when I follow a

talk/speech about a

wide range of topics.

10.3b I can infer meaning when

following a

conversation/dramatic

performance.

10.3e Having listened to a

conversation/dramatic

performance, I can explain

the likely reasons for a

person’s bias.


Page 55 of 158


Speaking (60 marks)

Procedure for the Speaking task:

During the role-play session, you are expected to describe your role briefly and go through at least TWO

of the following:

a. Ask at least one relevant question to another member of the panel.

b. Ask another member of the panel for clarification.

c. Ask any of the speakers to repeat anything they have said.

d. Ask any of the speakers to elaborate on something they said/mentioned.

e. Offer advice to any of the speakers about the topic being discussed.

Roles

Read the role you are given and make use of the questions in brackets to help you prepare what to say.

Your teacher will tell you who is to start off the discussion.

1. You’re an Information Technology (IT) teacher at a secondary school and you’re passionate

about the subject. You never miss a chance to promote it. (To the elderly person: Why don’t

you enrol in one of the computer courses on offer for beginners, they are free and available in

every locality?)

2. You’re a factory worker and you find your job boring and repetitive. However, you’re afraid you

might lose your job if it’s replaced by a robot. You don’t have many other skills. (To the IT

teacher: Can you please repeat what you teach your students?)

3. You’re an elderly person who’d like to know how to make use of technology so as to keep in

touch with your family. (To the Head of School: I would like to suggest that a basic knowledge

of computing/IT would be compulsory for all your students).

4. You’re the Head of a secondary school and your role is to prepare students for future jobs. (To

the student: May I suggest you offer help to the elderly in your locality who are having

problems filling online forms?)

5. You’re a computer literate student who has no problem adapting to modern technological

changes. (To the factory worker: Do you think you should look for another job if you think your

work may be replaced by AI or Robotics?)

During the role play exercise, the remainder of the students in class need to write:

i. one positive aspect of technology in our daily lives;

ii. one negative aspect of technology in our daily lives based on the discussion they have

listened to.


Page 56 of 158

Marking criteria – Role play Rating Scale (based on 60 marks)

(60 marks) MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 2 MQF 1

Students’ spoken

production typically

demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

20 -19 18-16 15-13 12-7 6– 0

Vocabulary

(includes

register)

Vocabulary range and

accuracy are sufficient to

communicate effectively

on a wide variety of

familiar and unfamiliar

topics.




on common, concrete,

and general topics.




on a topic, but range

might be limited.


accuracy are often

sufficient to communicate

on topic but range is

limited.


accuracy are often

insufficient to

communicate on topic

and range is very limited.

Word choice is

appropriate and sensitive

to register.

Word choice is mostly

appropriate and sensitive

to register.

Word choice is fairly

appropriate but not

consistently sensitive to

register.

Word choice is often

inappropriate and mostly

not sensible to register.

Word choice affects

communication.

Expression is consistently

idiomatic.

Expression is mostly

idiomatic.

Expression is sometimes

idiomatic.

Expression is rarely

idiomatic.

Expression is

unidiomatic.

Spoken

Grammar

An excellent range of

accurate structures are

produced with ease.

A good range of

structures are produced

with some ease.

A fair range of structures

are produced with some

inaccuracies.

A limited range of

structures is produced

with a fair amount of

inaccuracies.

A very limited range of

structures are produced

with inaccuracies.

Grammatical structures

are varied even though

dominated by chained

clauses, and sentence

patterns are consistently

well controlled.


are quite varied even

though dominated by

chained clauses and

sentence patterns are

mostly controlled.


are fairly varied even

though dominated by

chained clauses, and

sentence patterns are

fairly well controlled.

Basic grammatical

structures and sentence

patterns are not always

well controlled.

Basic grammatical

structures and sentence

patterns are not well

controlled.

Utterances, which may

constitute features of

spoken grammar (e.g.

chunks and clusters,

ellipses), are well

Utterances which may

constitute features of

spoken grammar (e.g.

chunks and clusters,

ellipses), are quite well

controlled.

Errors sometimes

interfere with meaning.

Errors frequently

sometimes interfere with

meaning.

Errors interfere with

meaning.


Page 57 of 158

controlled and show

evidence of fluency.

Intelligibility

(pronunciation

& stress)

Communication is

effortless and intelligible.

Communication is clearly

intelligible.

Communication is mostly

intelligible.

Communication is quite

intelligible but with

evidence of difficulties in

some parts.

Communication is

inadequate.

Pronunciation, stress,

rhythm, and intonation

never interfere with ease

of understanding.


rhythm and intonation

rarely interfere with ease

of understanding.



sometimes interfere with

ease of understanding,

but never put strain on

the listener.



interfere quite frequently

with ease of

understanding and/ or

put strain on the listener.



interfere frequently with

ease of understanding,

and put strain on the

listener.

25 – 23 22-19 18-15 14 – 6 5- 0

Discourse

Management

(structure

connectors,

etc.) &

Coherence

Stretches of language

with appropriate tempo.


with mostly appropriate

tempo.


with fairly appropriate

tempo.

Stretches of language but

tempo is sometimes

inappropriate.

Limited stretches of

language, and tempo is

often inappropriate.

Consistent fluency with

effective communication.

Mostly fluent with

effective communication.

Fairly fluent with some

ineffective

communication.

Hesitation or slowness in

language processing may

prevent effective

communication.

Hesitation or slowness in

language processing

often prevent effective

communication.

Speech is rarely affected

by repetitions, pauses

and self-correction, and

these never interfere

with ease of

understanding.

Speech is sometimes

affected by repetitions,

pauses and self -

correction, but these

rarely interfere with ease

of understanding.

Speech is somewhat


pauses and self-

correction, but these only

interfere sometimes with

ease of understanding.

Speech is often affected

by repetitions, pauses

and self-correction and

these sometimes

interfere with ease of

understanding.

Speech is very often


pauses and self-

correction and these

always interfere with

ease of understanding.

Discourse markers and

connectors are used well

and spontaneously.


connectors are used well.


connectors are used

mostly well.

Some use of discourse

markers or connectors.

Minimal use of discourse

markers and/or

connectors.


Page 58 of 158

Consistently appropriate

and well-structured ideas

which follow a clear

sequence.

Mostly appropriate and

quite well structured

ideas which follow a clear

sequence.

Speech is fairly

structured talk but shows

difficulty in remaining

coherent.

Speech is hardly

structured and does not

remain coherent.

Whenever necessary,

organizational patterns

are employed effectively

and competently.

Whenever necessary,


are employed effectively.

Whenever necessary,


are employed fairly

effectively.

Fillers are used

appropriately.

Fillers are mostly used

appropriately.

Fillers are sometimes

distracting.

Fillers are often

distracting. Fillers are distracting.

4 3 2 1 0

Task

Achievement Task achieved in full Task mostly achieved Task achieved in part

Task is hinted at but

mostly not achieved Task is not achieved

8 7 6 – 4 3 2 – 0

Paralinguistic

Features (non-

verbal

communication

– eye contact,

pitch, tone,

audience

engagement,

etc.)

Body language shows an

excellent predisposition

to communicate

confidently with peers.

Body language shows a

good predisposition to

communicate confidently

with peers.

Body language shows

quite a good disposition

to communicate quite

confidently with peers.

Body language is quite

adequate and attempts

to communicate with

peers.

Communicates

inadequately for the most

part with peers.

Excellent eye contact. Good eye contact. Quite good eye contact. Fairly good eye contact. Poor/no eye contact.

Excellent use of space. Good use of space. Quite good use of space. Fairly adequate use of

space. Inadequate use of space.

Very clear delivery (does

not mumble).

Clear delivery (does not

mumble). Delivery is quite clear.

Delivery is generally fair

(some mumbling).

Delivery is rather poor

(too much mumbling).

Tone and pitch are

managed very well.

Tone and pitch are

managed mostly well.

Tone and pitch are

managed quite well.

Manages tone and pitch

with some difficulty.

Poor management of

tone and pitch.

Tone and pitch are

nuanced and sensitive to

the audience.

Tone and pitch are

sensitive to the audience.

Choice of tone and pitch

are mostly audience

appropriate.


are only minimally

audience appropriate.


are not audience

appropriate.

3 3 2 1 0

Turn-taking Excellent use of turn-

taking.

Very good use of turn-

taking. Good use of turn-taking.

Fairly good use of turn-

taking.

Poor/non-existent use of

turn-taking.


Page 59 of 158

Assessment Criteria – Speaking

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

10.1a I can express

straightforward

ideas/information/feelings

using simple vocabulary.

10.2a I can express challenging


using a range of

vocabulary.

10.3a I can express

sophisticated


using a sophisticated

repertoire of vocabulary.

10.1b I can speak about my

point of view regarding a

topic.

10.2b I can agree/disagree with

a point of view presented

by other speakers in a

discussion.

10.3b I can summarise the pints

of view presented in a

discussion.

10.1c I can with support,

deliver a planned talk

which I have prepared.

10.2c I can deliver a planned

talk which I have

prepared.

10.3c I can structure and

sustain talk.

10.1d I can, with support,

present a number of

points about a familiar

topic to a particular

audience.

10.2d I can present a number of

points about a familiar

topic to a particular

audience.

10.3d

I can deliver an individual

presentation.

10.1e I can explain what I think

when asked a simple

question.

10.2e I can defend my point of

view when asked a simple

question.

10.3e I can defend my point of

view against reasonable

questioning.

10.1f I can use language to

convince others about a

simple proposition by

giving a reason.

10.2f I can use language to

convince others of the

benefits of a

decision/viewpoint.

10.3f I can use language in a

variety of persuasive

forms.

10.1h I can, with support, meet

the needs of the

audience.

10.2h I can achieve the purpose

of my presentation.

10.1i I can use informal

register when

communicating.

e.g. with family and

friends

10.2i

I can switch from

informal to formal

register.

10.3i

I can choose and adapt

language appropriately to

an audience.

10.1j

I can take part in a role-

playing exercise by taking

on a character role.

10.2j I can take part in a role-

playing exercise by

adopting the appropriate

communicative

strategies.

10.3j I can create and sustain

different roles from a

range of real-life

contexts.

10.1l I can, with support, give

simple

instructions/directions

using a logical sequence.

10.2l I can give simple

instructions/directions

using a logical sequence.


Page 60 of 158

MQF 1 MQF 2 MQF 3

11.1a I can ask a simple

question to request a

clarification.

11.2a I can ask a number of

simple questions to

request clarification,

using generally correct

language.

11.3a I can probe for more

information and

clarification through a

series of questions

fluently and accurately.

11.1b I can reply to other

speakers when they

express an opinion.

11.2b I can express my own

view in response to other

speaker’s opinions.

11.3b I can respond

appropriately to

questions and views of

others.

11.1c I can answer short

questions about what

I heard/read

11.2c I can recount the main

points of what I

heard/read.

11.3c I can act as rapporteur

in a situation where

information is

exchanged.

11.1d I can give feedback by

providing an

appropriate response

in a straight forward

manner.

11.2d I can give feedback by

responding formally and

in some detail.

11.3d I can respond

perceptively, and if

necessary, elaborate

with further ideas and

information.

11.1e I can respond to other

speakers in a brief

dialogue.

11.2e I can participate in a

dialogue and respect the

rules of turn taking.

11.3e I can engage in a

discussion by following

the rules of turn

management.

11.1f I can explain why I

agree/disagree with a

point of view

regarding a topic in a

discussion.

11.2f I can offer possible

suggestions in a

discussion where different

points of view are being

presented.

11.3f I can synthesise the

discussion by restating

the main points of view.

11.1g I can speak briefly

about the bias I detect

in speech.

11.2g I can report on bias in the

reporting of others.

11.3g I can challenge other

views where

appropriate.


Page 61 of 158

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 1-2

MATRICULATION AND SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE

EXAMINATIONS BOARD

SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE LEVEL

SAMPLE PAPER

SUBJECT: English Language

PAPER NUMBER: Level 1 – 2 (Extracts Booklet)

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Section A: Reading

Source A

Paragraph A

Ninety-nine years ago, in the American Magazine Good Health, nutritionist Lenna Cooper declared that

breakfast was “in many ways...the most important meal of the day, because it is the meal that kick-

starts the day”.

Paragraph B

“It should not be eaten hurriedly,” she continued, “and all the family, as much as possible, should eat it

together. And above all, it should be made up of easily digested foods. Breakfast should be balanced in 5

such a way that the various food elements are present in the right proportions. It should not be a heavy

meal, consisting of over 500 to 700 calories.”

Paragraph C

Ever since that line about “the most important meal of the day” has been written, many people have

discussed the dangers of skipping breakfast. But, has the importance of the early-morning meal been

blown out of proportion? Well, yes and no. Whole societies have flourished without it, like the ancient 10

Romans, for example. They usually ate once a day, around noon and still managed to dominate a fifth

of the world. Britain also largely went without it until about the 17th century.

Paragraph D

One scientific study after the other, however, has shown that there are health benefits. “Breaking your

fast” shortly after waking, rather than in the middle of the day, is healthy. On the other hand, skipping

meals, is not. Unfortunately, up to one-third of us still regularly miss breakfast. Establishing a regular 15

eating pattern has shown to regulate levels of blood sugar. It also helps to reduce weight gain and control

hunger pangs. So, what should you be having? Even in today’s hectic world, almost no one is genuinely

so rushed that they can’t stick a slice of bread in the toaster or pour milk on cereal – and sit down to

enjoy it. If you’re stuck for quick and tasty ideas, include “protein-packed” scrambled eggs on wholemeal

toast, homemade granola bars, and, for a weekend treat, muffins with ham, cheese and poached egg. 20


Page 62 of 158

Paragraph E

Once you’ve dipped your toe in the water, you may be tempted to enjoy the experience. Make sure you

set aside enough time to savour it. As the American author John Gunther put it, “All happiness depends

on a leisurely breakfast.”


Page 63 of 158

Section B

Source B

Fresh from cooking up a feast for a hungry Olympic rowing team, exuberant Bulgaria-born chef Silvena

Rowe has taken some time out of her busy schedule to chat to us.

The culinary whizz, who talks about some of the most unusual foods she's eaten, has been filming in the

UK and the US for two upcoming shows - The Time Machine Chefs and the BBC prime time series Keep

Cooking and Carry On, which will hit screens this autumn. 5

Off screen, Silvena has been keeping busy too. Her debut restaurant Quince opened in the Mayfair Hotel

last year and has since become celebrated for its Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

We caught up with Silvena during a rare quiet moment in her chaotic schedule.

JOURNALIST: You’ve been busy cooking for hungry Olympians at your Mayfair restaurant, Quince,

recently. Were they different from your usual clientele? 10

SILVENA ROWE: I cooked for the US women’s rowing team. Standing next to those girls I felt tiny.

They were a fine bunch of ladies with great appetites, stunning and full of woman power. Unusually for

me we were all in the kitchen together. We had a lot of fun preparing lamb with white truffle sauce, a

pomegranate salad, carrot and coriander soup, as well as fish. They still had room for dessert too, so we

prepared my favourite baklava and one of the restaurant’s best-selling dishes, white chocolate 15

cheesecake. We’re changing the menu soon for autumn, but this favourite is going to stay and is going

to be renamed Golden Blondie in honour of this great group of blonde Olympians.

JOURNALIST: What was the biggest challenge that the contestants had to overcome on The Time

Machine Chefs?

SILVENA ROWE: There were quite a few: cooking outside, contending with the weather and of course 20

the lack of basic equipment that we take for granted these days. I was most impressed by their use of

imagination and resourcefulness. They attempted difficult dishes regardless of their lack of

equipment. For me as a judge, creativity and vision won every time. One chef who prepared a Peking

duck managed to make use of every part of it, brain included.

JOURNALIST: What’s the modern kitchen gadget you couldn’t live without? 25

SILVENA ROWE: There is no one particular gadget but modern and simple equipment that we take for

granted – basics such as a saucepan, knife or chopping board or a fridge and even heat to cook on. The

show makes you realise you just don’t need gadgets like choppers and mixers.

JOURNALIST: Apart from duck brains, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

SILVENA ROWE: Japanese cuisine is the strangest I’ve ever experienced. I tried fugu, which translates 30

as river pig and is pufferfish in English. It’s can cause death if it’s not prepared correctly but luckily, mine

wasn’t!

JOURNALIST: You’ve got a packed schedule with a restaurant to run and TV shows in the UK

and the US. Do you find time to cook on your day off?

SILVENA ROWE: I never have time to cook during the week, but I always take Sundays off and that’s 35

a great excuse for a feast in my house. We either do a big brunch or late afternoon roast. My husband

is a hopeless cook, but I’ve taught my sons (aged 19 and 24) well. The other night they treated me to

meatballs and a Greek salad, which was lovely after a few hard weeks.

(Adapted from Hello Magazine)


Page 64 of 158

MATRICULATION AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS BOARD


SAMPLE PAPER


PAPER NUMBER: Level 1 – 2 (Questions Booklet)

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Answer all three sections.

Section A (30 marks)

You are advised to spend an average of 40 minutes on this section.

Read Source A in the Extracts Booklet.

1. Underline the most appropriate title for this passage: (1 mark)

a. Why have breakfast?

b. The origins of breakfast

c. A traditional British breakfast

2. In your own words explain what nutritionist Lenna Cooper meant by the phrase kick-starts the day

(line 2-3). (2 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Are the following statements True or False? Circle the correct answer and give a reason.

(5 marks)

a. The idea that breakfast is important is a new one.

True/False because______________________________________________________

b. Breakfast became popular in Britain before the 17th century.


c. The finding that breakfast is an important meal is based on one big study.


d. It is best to have breakfast as early in the day as possible.

True/False because ______________________________________________________

e. The majority of us still miss breakfast.

True/False because ______________________________________________________


Page 65 of 158


The passage

a. explains the origins of the term breakfast.

b. what Lenna Cooper enjoyed for breakfast.

c. how to make muffins for breakfast.

5. Between lines 8 to 12, find single words or phrases that match the following meanings as used in

the passage. (6 marks)

a. talked about ___________________________

b. missing ___________________________

c. exaggerated ___________________________

d. very old ___________________________

e. command ___________________________

f. a period of 100 years ___________________________

6. Using your own words, in a paragraph of not less than 40 and not more than 50 words, show

why having breakfast and eating regularly is advisable and possible. (6 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

7a. Do you think the author is in favour of having breakfast? (1 mark)

_____________________________________________________________________________

b. Quote TWO phrases between lines 21 to 23 to show this. (2 marks)

i. ____________________________________________________________________________

ii. ____________________________________________________________________________

8. Underline the correct answer. (1 mark)

The author John Gunther (line 22-23) felt that

a. you might be happy if you have breakfast

b. you will be healthy if you have breakfast

c. you can only be happy if you have breakfast


Page 66 of 158

9. Fill in the boxes below with the correct letter (A-D). (5 marks)

Which paragraph tells the reader

that having breakfast makes you happy? Paragraph ____

the different kinds of food to prepare for breakfast? Paragraph ____

the name of the magazine in which Lenna Cooper wrote? Paragraph ____

that breakfast is best eaten in a group? Paragraph ____

that perhaps we are making a fuss about the importance of breakfast? Paragraph ____

Section B (30 marks)


Read Source B in the Extracts Booklet.


The main purpose of the passage is to

a. get to know chef Silvena Rowe better.

b. encourage people to watch chef Silvena Rowe’s television shows.

c. promote chef Silvena Rowe’s restaurant.

2. Why is chef Silvena Rowe referred to as a culinary whizz (line 3)? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. When will both chef Silvena Rowe’s television shows be viewed? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

4. Tick () the correct box: (2 marks)

a. …become celebrated for its Eastern Mediterranean cuisine (line 7)

The word celebrated is:

b. …a rare quiet moment in her chaotic schedule. (line 8)

The word chaotic is:

5. Underline the correct word in brackets. (5 marks)

a. Silvena Rowe cooked a meal for an Olympic rowing team (lately, long ago, some time

ago).

b. Silvena Rowe’s restaurant Quince opened (last autumn, this year, a year ago).

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Positive

Neutral

Negative


Page 67 of 158

c. Silvena Rowe cooked for the rowing team (alone, with a group of women, with one

helper).

d. Silvena Rowe prepared (nothing, one dish, two dishes) for dessert for the rowing team.

e. (The white chocolate cheesecake, The US rowing team, Silvena’s cooking show) is going

to have a new name.

6. What does chef Silvena Rowe mean by saying “standing next to those girls I felt tiny” (line 11)?

(2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7. List SIX food items the staff at Quince restaurant prepared for the US Olympic rowing team.

(3 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

8. What TWO things struck chef Silvena Rowe when she was judging contestants participating on

the television show The Time Machine Chefs? (2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

9. What do the following words refer to in the passage? (3 marks)

a. her (line 2) ___________________________

b. They (line 12) ___________________________

c. this (line 16) ___________________________

d. their (line 21) ___________________________

e. it (line 24) ___________________________

f. which (line 32) ___________________________

10. According to chef Silvena Rowe, which modern kitchen gadgets are not essential?

(2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

11. “Apart from duck brains, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?” (line 29)

Why do you think the journalist asks chef Silvena Rowe this question? (2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


Page 68 of 158

12. Are the following statements Fact or Opinion? Circle the correct answer.

(3 marks)

a. I always take Sundays off. (Fact / Opinion)

b. …that’s a great excuse for a feast in my house. (Fact / Opinion)

c. We either do a big brunch or late afternoon roast. (Fact / Opinion)

d. My husband is a hopeless cook. (Fact / Opinion)

e. I’ve taught my sons ….well. (Fact / Opinion)

f. They made meatballs and a Greek salad. (Fact / Opinion)

13. Read both Text 1 and Text 2 and tick () the correct box below: (3 marks)

Which text Text 1 Text 2

is an article?

is an interview?

aims to persuade the reader?


Page 69 of 158

Section C (40 marks)

1. Short Writing Task (10 marks)


Write in full sentences.

You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.

You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

Your school is organising a competition entitled Five-Minute Meal, in which students cook their own

meal in five minutes. Below are the ingredients and utensils. Write the step-by-step method for this

recipe in the space provided. Use the picture and the lists of Ingredients and Utensils provided to help

you.

Ham and Cheese Omelette

Ingredients

3 eggs

3 slices ham

3 tablespoons grated cheese

salt

pepper

olive oil

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Utensils

mixing bowl

whisker

frying pan

spatula


Page 70 of 158

2. Extended Writing (30 marks)


Write in full sentences.

Use the space provided.

You are reminded of the need to plan your answer.

You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.

You are going to write an article for the school magazine.

EITHER: Write an article aimed at teenagers who want to take up a career as a chef.

OR: Write an article aimed at teenagers who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


Page 71 of 158

Marking Criteria – Summary Rating Scale Controlled Assessment MQF1-2 (based on 6 marks)

6 marks Candidates characteristically:

2 1

Identification of salient

points identify most of the relevant and

salient points in the text. identify some of the relevant and salient

points in the text.

2 1

Synthesis and language

usage

synthesise the relevant and salient points;

use own words as much as possible; some evidence of fluency and

accuracy.

attempt to synthesise the relevant and salient points;

attempt to use own words but not always successful;

minimal evidence of fluency and accuracy.

2 1

Organisation and Structure structure and organise their writing but with some flaws.

attempt to structure and organise their writing with a significant number of flaws.

Note 1: Deduct 1 mark for 5 less or more words; deduct 2 marks for 10 less or more words, etc.

Note 2: Deduct 1 mark if the summary is not presented in a single paragraph.


Page 72 of 158

Marking Criteria - Controlled Assessment MQF 1-2 (based on 10 marks)

Short Writing Task Rating Scale

(10 marks) Candidates characteristically:

3 2 1

Task achievement

(content,

relevance, text

type features)

Task is achieved but with some flaws;

Content is moderately relevant;

Text type features are moderately appropriate.

Task is achieved in part; Content is only partly relevant;

Text type features are partly appropriate.

Task is hardly achieved; Content is under-developed; Text type features are minimally

appropriate, if at all.

3 2 1

Language use

Moderately accurate grammatical structures and syntax;

Some variety of grammatical structures;

Moderate accuracy of expression; Quite good use of punctuation.

Grammatical structures and syntax are basic and sometimes inaccurate;

Adequate choice of expression but with some inaccuracies;

Adequate use of punctuation but some errors.

Grammatical structures and syntax are limited and mostly inaccurate;

Limited choice of expression and with

inaccuracies; Punctuation use is rather poor.

2 2 1

Organisation and

Structure

(Coherence and

Cohesion)

Structure and organisation of writing is somewhat coherent;

Cohesive devices are used fairly appropriately.

Paragraph and sentence structure are fairly correct though unambitious;

Cohesive devices are rather limited.

Paragraph and sentence structure show lack of control;

Minimal use of cohesive devices.

2 2 1

Vocabulary and

Register

Adequate range and appropriate vocabulary;

Mostly appropriate use of register; Moderately accurate spelling.

Choice of vocabulary is unambitious and sometimes inaccurate;

Adequate use of register but with some inaccuracies;

Accuracy in spelling is limited.

Limited vocabulary, possibly seen in the repetition of words;

Not sensitive to the choice of register;

Poor spelling.


Page 73 of 158

Marking Criteria –Controlled Assessment MQF 1-2 (based on 30 marks)

Extended writing Rating Scale


8 – 7 6 – 3 2 – 0

Task achievement

(content,

relevance, text type

features)

Task is achieved but with some flaws;


Text type features are moderately appropriate.

Task is achieved in part; Content is only partly relevant; Text type features are partly appropriate.

Task is hardly achieved;

Content is under-developed;

Text type features are minimally appropriate, if at all.

8 – 7 6 – 3 2 – 0

Language use

Moderately accurate grammatical structures and syntax;

Some variety of grammatical structures; Moderate accuracy of expression;

Quite good use of punctuation.

Grammatical structures and syntax are basic and sometimes inaccurate;


Adequate use of punctuation but some

errors.


Limited choice of expression and with inaccuracies;

Punctuation use is rather poor.

7 – 6 5 – 3 2 – 0

Organisation and

Structure

(Coherence and

Cohesion)

Structure and organisation of writing is somewhat coherent;

Cohesive devices are used fairly

appropriately.



Paragraph and sentence structure show lack of control;

Minimal use of cohesive devices.

7 – 6 5 – 3 2 – 0

Vocabulary and

Register

Adequate range and appropriate

vocabulary; Mostly appropriate use of register; Moderately accurate spelling.




Limited vocabulary, possibly seen in

the repetition of words; Not sensitive to the choice of register; Poor spelling.


Page 74 of 158

Reading : Section A Source A

6.

Breakfast is important and should be the first meal of the day. When it is eaten regularly,

it helps to control the level of sugar in one’s blood. It also decreases the possibility of

putting on weight and makes you feel less hungry. (43 words)

6 marks

7a. Yes.

b. i. tempted to wallow in the experience

ii. set enough time to savour it

3 marks

8a. you can only be happy if you have breakfast 1 mark

9.

E

D

A

B

C

5 marks

Section B Source B

1. a. to get to know chef Silvena Rowe better 1 mark

2. She is a cooking expert.

1 mark

3. In autumn 1 mark

4. a.

b.

Positive

Neutral

Negative

Positive

Neutral

Negative

2 marks

5. a. lately

b. last year 5 marks

1a. Why have breakfast? 1 mark

2. Begins the day in a positive way. 2 marks

3. a. True/False because 99 years ago Lenna Cooper wrote breakfast was important.

b. True/False because Britain went without breakfast until the 17th century.

c. True/False because it was based on many scientific studies.

d. True/False because you should have breakfast shortly after waking up.

e. True/False because up to one third still miss breakfast.

5 marks

4a. explains the origins of breakfast

1 mark

5.

discussed

skipping

blown out of proportion

ancient

dominate

century

6 marks


Page 75 of 158

c. with a group of women

d. two dishes

e. The white chocolate cheesecake

6. Their appearance and the fact that they are ambitious makes her say so. 2 marks

7. a. lamb cutlets with white truffle sauce

b. pomegranate salad

c. carrot and coriander soup

d. baklava

e. white chocolate cheesecake

3 marks

8. Their imagination and resourcefulness. 2 marks

9. a. her (line 2) Silvena Rowe’s

b. They (line 12) The girls/The Women’s Rowing Team

c. this (line 16) white chocolate cheesecake

d. their (line 21) contestants’

e. it (line 24) the duck

f. which (line 30) fugu

3 marks

10. Choppers and mixers. 2 marks

11. The journalist wanted to find something unsusual about her in order to interest the

reader. 2 marks

12. a. Fact

b. Opinion

c. Fact

d. Opinion

e. Opinion

f. Fact

3 marks

13. Which text Text 1 Text 2

is an article?

is an interview?

aims to persuade the

reader?

3 marks


Page 76 of 158

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 1-2: Speaking


EXAMINATIONS BOARD


SAMPLE PAPER


PAPER NUMBER: Level 1 – 2 Speaking

DATE:

TIME: 10 min

Brief

The Speaking Task involves two parts: (i) an ice-breaker which aims to allow candidates time to feel at

ease, and (ii) a long turn that includes two minutes for candidates to think and reflect on the topic that

they choose from a list of three titles. Following this time period, candidates are expected to speak about

the topic for up to two minutes. The task should last approximately 10 minutes.

Below are the instructions for both examiners and candidates to follow during the speaking task.

PART 1 – Guided Examiner-to-Candidate Conversation (about 1 minute)

The examiner tells the candidate:

Good morning/afternoon. Please have a seat.

In this part of the task, I am going to ask you some questions about yourself. May I remind you to please

speak up so that I may hear you, and remember to answer questions as fully as possible.

Let’s talk about you.

1. How do you spend your free time?

2. What do you plan to do after leaving your school?

[If the candidate answers a question too briefly or is unable to move beyond one- or two-

word responses, the examiner should move on to the next question or to the second task.]

After the candidate has answered all the questions, the examiner says:

Thank you. Now we shall proceed to the second part of the task.


Page 77 of 158

PART 2 – Guided Examiner-to-Candidate Long Turn (about 2 minutes)


In this part of the task, you are to speak for about two minutes on the topic you’ve chosen. Before you

start speaking, you have two minutes to recollect your thoughts on the topic. Here’s a pencil and paper

to write some notes. You may refer to these notes during the speaking task.

The examiner hands a pencil and a sheet of paper to the candidate and waits for two minutes.

At the end of the two minutes, the examiner tells the candidate:

All right? Which title have you chosen?

The examiner waits for the candidate to pronounce the title. The examiner then says:

You may begin.

Titles:

1. Sports activities keep us healthy and fit. Discuss.

2. Some teenagers are responsible but others are not. Discuss.

3. Friends are important in our life. Discuss.

If the examiner notes that the candidate is unable to maintain discourse for ONE or TWO

minutes, the examiner should pose just ONE prompt to assist the candidate. If the candidate

is still unable to proceed, then the examiner should bring the task to an end.]

After the candidate has concluded the presentation, the examiner says:

Thank you. May I have the paper back, please? This is the end of the speaking task.


Page 78 of 158

Assessment Criteria – Speaking

MQF 1 MQF 2

10.1a I can express straightforward

ideas/information/feelings.

10.2a I can express challenging

ideas/information/feelings using a

range of vocabulary.

10.1b I can speak about my point of view

regarding a topic.

10.1c I can, with support, deliver a planned

talk which I have prepared (respond to

a visual prompt using continuous

speech which involves some

hesitations).

10.1c I can deliver a planned talk which I have

prepared.

10.1e I can explain what I think when asked a

simple question.

12.1a I can use language appropriate to a

small number of limited contexts.

12.2a I can use language appropriate to a

limited number of contexts.

12.1b I can be intelligible in my spoken

production.

12.1c I can use simple structures accurately. 12.2c I can use basic structures accurately

and with ease.

12.1d I can produce simple utterances, which

may constitute features of spoken

grammar (e.g. ellipses), are quite well

controlled and show some evidence of

fluency.

12.2d I can produce basic utterances, which

may constitute features of spoken

grammar (e.g. chunks and ellipses),

are mostly well controlled and show

some evidence of fluency

12.1e I can use a simple range of grammatical

structures which are quite well

controlled.

12.2e I can use a limited range of grammatical

structures which are mostly well

controlled.


Page 79 of 158

Marking Criteria – Speaking Controlled Assessment MQF 1-2 (based on 100 marks)

MQF 2 MQF 2 MQF 1

Students’ spoken production typically

demonstrates these features:





25-19 18-11 10-0

Vocabulary

(includes

register)

Vocabulary range and accuracy are often sufficient to communicate effectively on a topic, but range might be limited;

Word choice is sometimes inappropriate; Paraphrasing is sometimes used when lacking

vocabulary, but this is not always successful;

Error in word choice sometimes effects communication.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are often sufficient to communicate on topic, but range is limited;

Word choice is often inappropriate; Is often unable to paraphrase successfully

when lacking vocabulary;

Error in word choice frequently effects communication.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are often insufficient to communicate on topic, and range is very limited;

Word choice is very often inappropriate; Does not paraphrase successfully when lacking

vocabulary

Errors in word choice effect communication completely.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Spoken Grammar

A range of structures but with some inaccuracies;

Errors mostly occur when attempting complex structures;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns might not be controlled well;

Errors sometimes interfere with meaning.

A limited range of structures and these might contain errors;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not always well controlled;

Errors frequently interfere with meaning.

A very limited range of structures and these often contain errors;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not well controlled;

Errors interfere with meaning.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Intelligibility

(pronunciation &

stress)

Communication is quite intelligible but with there is evidence of difficulties in some parts;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation sometimes interfere with ease of understanding, and/or put strain on the listener.

Communication is only intelligible in some parts;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation interfere quite frequently with ease of understanding, and/or put strain on the listener.

Communication is inadequate; Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation

interfere frequently with ease of understanding, and put strain on the listener.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Discourse

Management

(structure,

connectors, etc.)

& Coherence

Stretches of language but tempo is sometimes inappropriate;

There may be loss of fluency, and this at times prevents effective communication;

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these sometimes interfere

with ease of understanding; Some use of discourse markers or connectors; Talk is structured talk but shows difficulty in

remaining coherent;

Fillers are sometimes distracting.

Stretches of language, but tempo is often inappropriate;

Hesitations or slowness in language processing may prevent effective communication’

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these regularly interfere

with ease of understanding; Limited use of discourse markers or

connectors; Talk is structured but with some difficulty;

Fillers are often distracting.

Limited stretches of language, and tempo is often inappropriate;

Hesitations or slowness in language processing often prevent effective communication;

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these often interfere with

ease of understanding; Minimal use of discourse markers and/or

connectors. Talk is structure talk but with difficulty;

Fillers are distracting.


Page 80 of 158

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 2-3


PAPER NUMBER: Level 2 – 3 (Extracts Booklet)

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Section A: Reading

Source A

(0) Technology has completely changed virtually every aspect of our society over the past few

decades, from the way we work to the way we socialize and everything in between. One of the

differences that have been most noticeable is the change in the way that children play and interact

with each other from previous generations. Although technology does provide many positive benefits

for learning, it also can have several negative effects on child development and quality of life. 5

(A) One of the biggest differences in the way that children live today is that they do not get as

much exercise as they used to. This is because technology such as computers, smart phones and

television encourages them to be sedentary when they get home from school, as opposed to going

outside and playing with other children. Child obesity rates have risen drastically over the past

several decades. While many schools and parents have made strides to change this by promoting 10

organized exercise both during and after school, we still have a long way to go in helping children

play in more conventional ways.

(B) In addition to not getting enough exercise, many children do not experience the benefits of

spending time outdoors when they are heavily reliant on technology for entertainment purposes.

Spending time outdoors has a huge number of positive effects on the body — it provides you with 15

exposure to sunlight, which supplies your body with Vitamin D. This helps to fight infections and

keep your skin healthy. Additionally, regular exposure to sunlight helps to keep your sleep cycle

regular by influencing the body’s production of melatonin. Recent research has shown screens from

devices such as tablets and smart phones emit harmful blue light that can cause headaches, eye

strain and irritated eyes for children. Furthermore, sleep is also disturbed by harmful blue light when 20

children are exposed to screen time in the evening due to the suppression of the hormone melatonin

which regulates the sleep wake cycle. This makes it increasingly difficult for a child’s body to

effectively prepare to get ready for a goodnight’s sleep.





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(C) Technology also has profound impacts on the way children think and feel. Since technology

is full of stimuli and often requires paying attention to many different things at once, children who 25

play many video games or spend most of their time online tend to have less of an ability to focus than

children who use technology minimally. It can also affect the way children process information —

when children are exposed to high levels of technology, they tend to think through things only

superficially and do not develop the ability to think critically or be creative when learning new

concepts. 30

(D) Technology changes the way children socialise and interact with others, which can have huge

impacts on their mental and emotional well-being. It has now become common knowledge that high

levels of social media use, in both children and adults, can lower self-esteem and create negative

moods. However, all types of technology can actually have negative effects on children when used

in excess, because they lower children’s frequency of interacting with their peers. This makes it 35

more difficult for them to pick up on social cues and develop meaningful relationships with others —

something that can have serious negative consequences as they grow and develop. They also have

a difficult time developing emotions the same way other children would if they spend too much of

their time with technology and not enough time being engaged while in the presence of others.

(E) This isn’t to say that all technology is bad, or that children should never use technology. 40

Technology provides numerous positive opportunities for learning, entertaining, and socialising, but

it should be monitored and used appropriately. Here are some tips to help head off these problems

and encourage responsible technology use with your children.

(F) Instead of prohibiting technology use altogether, it is important to set daily limits for how

long children can use technology each day. For many children, once they get their initial fix of 45

technology after a long day at school, they will get the same level of satisfaction that they would if

they had been using the technology for hours.

(G) If children are eager to participate in exercise, it would be wise to encourage them to spend

time outdoors, or socialise with friends in ‘real life’ instead of online. If parents support beneficial

activities instead of encouraging them to use technology, children will feel more comfortable making 50

physical exercise part of their routine.

(H) There should be designated screen time for the whole family, and therefore, parents should

set a good example. If children see parents on their phone or computer constantly, they will also

want to use technology all the time.

(I) Although navigating this world of technology can be quite tricky, it can also have many 55

benefits for both children and adults. We have to remember technology is relatively new, and long

term studies about the effects on the development of children in the digital age is not available as

of yet. By putting limits on technology usage and being aware of the potential negative consequences

of overuse, both children and adults can have peace of mind and get more from the technology that

they use.60

(Adapted from https://medium.com/thrive-global/will-technology-ruin-your-childrens-development-663351c76974)

https://medium.com/thrive-global/will-technology-ruin-your-childrens-development-663351c76974


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Source B

The pie chart shown illustrates the loyalty of Minecraft gamers with 36% of gamers having played

the game for a period of longer than 12 months to date.

It’s no secret that Minecraft is wildly popular, and

has been for some time. Since its creation in 2009,

Minecraft has captured the minds and imaginations 5

of more children than we can count.

Like many parents, you may be worried about

exactly how much time your little one is spending on

the computer playing a game that looks like it came

from the first decades of the internet. They ask 10

questions like: Surely it can’t be healthy for them,

right? They can’t possibly be learning from just

playing, can they? Actually, they can and they are!

Minecraft Enhances Life Skills

One reason Minecraft is good for children because it promotes creativity, problem-solving, self-15

direction, and collaboration. It is these life skills that will give children the boost needed when they

eventually work their way towards succeeding academically and future careers.

Creativity

Minecraft is unique in that it’s an unlimited world where children can create literally anything

they can imagine, but within the constraint that everything is made up of blocks that must fit within 20

the 3D grid of the game.

Pirate galleys, re-creations of both fictional and real-world cities, and even your favourite science

fiction ships probably already exist in Minecraft, and were also built by someone who is not 18

years old yet. Now that’s some major creativity! (Seriously, go Google “cool things built in

Minecraft.” It’ll blow your mind. 25

Problem-Solving

“Survival mode,” where various creatures come out at night and attack players, is just one facet

of the way Minecraft encourages problem-solving. Players are dropped into various environments

and must quickly figure out how to find and build shelter, make weapons, and collect food in order

to survive. Strategy comes into play in a big way here, as each Minecraft “day” lasts barely 10 real-30

world minutes, meaning players have to think on their feet if they want to stay alive.

Self-Direction

Minecraft is also unique in that there is no way to “win.” Players must decide for themselves

what they want to get out of their time in the game. Do they want to collect resources and build

cool stuff? Do they want to team up with their friends and defeat a boss? It’s up to them. Such 35

independence and the positive reinforcement build self-confidence and let children feel like they’re

in charge of their own fate, a feeling that can sometimes be lacking in the real world which is so

full of rules.

Collaboration

Children can play Minecraft on computer servers, either with their friends or with others around 40

the world, and work together to achieve goals. They pool resources, build structures, defeat


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enemies, trade tips—the communication and cooperation involved is endless. Children can then

take these social skills and apply them to their lives off the computer.

(Adapted from https://www.idtech.com/blog/educational-benefits-minecraft)

https://www.idtech.com/blog/educational-benefits-minecraft


Page 84 of 158


EXAMINATIONS BOARD


SAMPLE PAPER


PAPER NUMBER: Level 2–3

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Answer ALL three sections.

Section A (30 marks)


Read Source A in the Extracts Booklet.

1. Underline the title that best fits this text. (1 mark)

a. Should technology be abolished?

b. Children should spend time playing outdoors.

c. Will technology ruin your child’s development?

d. The benefits of technology on children.

e. Will technology improve your children’s cognitive skills?

2. Each sentence included in the table below summarises the main idea of a single paragraph.

Complete the table with the letters A, C, D, G and H. An example (0) is given to you. (5 marks)

The paragraph emphasises the importance of exemplary behaviour from parents.

The paragraph describes the effects technology may have on children’s social behaviour.

The paragraph explains how children exercise less due to the overuse of technology.

The paragraph highlights the way technology affects children’s thinking.

The paragraph introduces technology and its influence on society. 0

The paragraph advises parents to make sure that their children have the opportunity to

meet friends outdoors.


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3. Identify single words that match the following meanings as found in the text. A range of lines are

given to help you. (3 marks)

a. almost (lines 1-2) _________________________

b. inactive (lines 8-9) _________________________

c. sharply (lines 9-10) _________________________

d. too much (lines 34-35) _________________________

e. kept under observation (line 42-43) _________________________

f. allocated (lines 51-52) _________________________

4. In a paragraph of not less than 60 and not more than 70 words, summarise the negative effects

the writer explains that may occur while children are growing up. (10 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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Page 86 of 158

5. In the third paragraph (Para. B, lines 13-23) the writer lists a number of facts that connect the use

of technology with children’s physical health. Read the following statements based on Para. B.

Are they True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason. (5 marks)

a. Children who are exposed to sunlight will get a sun stroke.

True/False because___________________________________________________

b. When children are exposed to sunlight, their body is better prepared against

infections.

True/False because__________________________________________________

c. Exposure to sunlight will give children sleepless nights.


d. Screens emit blue light which is beneficial to children because it helps them sleep.


e. Light from screens may cause children to strain their eyes and this may be harmful.


6. What do the words listed below refer to in the text? (2 marks)

a. differences (line 3) _______________________________

b. This (line 7) _______________________________

c. them (line 8) _______________________________

d. they (line 36) _______________________________


By the phrase ‘we still have a long way to go in helping children play in more conventional ways’

(lines 11–12), the writer seems to suggest that:

a. it is difficult to encourage children to play with their smart phones.

b. parents will soon succeed in engaging their children with traditional games.

c. it is hard to convince children to engage in physical activity rather than entertain themselves

with technological devices.

d. technology is beneficial to children.


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By the phrase ‘navigating this world of technology can be quite tricky’ (line 55), the writer seems to

suggest that:

a. technology poses a challenge to everyone.

b. driving can be difficult for everyone.

c. humanity has embraced technology.

d. it is easy to become technologically savvy.

Section B (30 marks)


Read Source B in the Extracts’ Booklet.


The pie chart shows that

a. most gamers play Minecraft for a year or less.

b. most gamers switch to another game after 3 months.

c. most gamers play Minecraft longer than other games.

d. most gamers play Minecraft for at least a year.

2. Based on what you have read about Minecraft in Source B, write Fact (F) or Opinion (O). (6 marks)

a. Gamers in more than 5 countries took part in the survey.

b. It was created more than 5 years ago.

c. A large number of children have played it.

d. It has been popular for quite a long time.

e. Parents have concerns about it.

f. It is an educational game.

3. Read the sentences below. Based on what you have read about Minecraft in Source B, are they True

or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason. (6 marks)

a. The writer suggests that Minecraft could help children improve academically.

True/False because_____________________________________________________

b. Minecraft limits children because they can only play with blocks.



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c. Minecraft poses a number of challenges which make gamers good strategists.

True/False because_______________________________________________________

d. At the end of each game there are winners and losers.


e. Children learn to play collaboratively while they are engaged in the game.


f. The writer praises Minecraft at all times in the text.


4. Find a phrasal verb (e.g. get up) in the given range of lines found in the text which means:

(4 marks)

a. to make progress in a process (lines 15– 17) _________________________

b. composed (lines 19-20) _________________________

c. understand (lines 29-30) _________________________

d. form a group (lines 35-36) _________________________

5. Find a phrase made up of between 3 and 4 words in the text which means: (3 marks)

a. common knowledge _________________________

b. starts to have an effect _________________________

c. make a quick decision _________________________

Read both Source A and B for question 6

6. Both texts focus on technology in similar and yet different ways. State how the two texts are similar

and/or different by referring to the points listed below, which will assist you in your answer. Do not

quote directly from the text when supporting your view.

Comment on what each text is about

Make an observation on the purpose of each text

Comment on the possible target audience for each text

Comment on the organisation and structure of the passages

Highlight the ideas or messages you think the writers wish to convey

(10 marks)


Page 89 of 158

Use the space provided below to write your answer.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Section C (40 marks)


Extended Writing

You have been asked to write an article for the school website. Choose ONE of the given titles below.

1. The time has come for mobile phones to be part of lessons at school.

2. Bullying has taken many forms and we may experience it in school and/or online. How can we

stop bullying through creative ways?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________


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__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________________

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Page 91 of 158

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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Page 92 of 158

Rating Scale – Summary Rating Scale Controlled Assessment MQF 2-3 (based on 10 marks)

Candidates characteristically:

3 2 1–0

Identification of salient

points identify most of the relevant

and salient points in the text. identify some of the relevant and

salient points in the text. identify minimally relevant points, if

at all.

4–3 2 1–0

Synthesis and language

usage

synthesise the relevant and salient points;

use own words as much as possible;

show fluency and accuracy.

attempt to synthesise the relevant and salient points;

attempt to use own words but not always successful;

some evidence of fluency and accuracy.

shows a rather poor attempt to synthesise the relevant and salient points, or none at all;

repeats quite a number of words/phrases from the text or copies chunks of the source text;

poor fluency and accuracy.

3 2 1–0

Organisation and Structure structure and organise their

writing in a cogent manner.

structure and organise their

writing but with some flaws.

show poor control of structure;

writing is not organised.

Note 1: Deduct 1 mark for 5 less or more words; deduct 2 marks for 10 less or more words, etc.

Note 2: Deduct 1 mark if the summary is not presented in a single paragraph.


Page 93 of 158

Marking Criteria – Read to Write Rating Scale Controlled Assessment MQF 2-3 (based on 10 marks)

(10 marks) Students

characteristically Students characteristically Students characteristically Students characteristically

3 2 1 0

Knowledge and Understanding of Content (what the texts are about; the

purpose; the potential audience) &

Organisation and Structure of the texts

communicate thorough knowledge and understanding of both source texts;

demonstrate an excellent

understanding of both

source texts by going beyond the surface level between texts;

communicate thorough observation of the texts’ organisation and structure.

communicate knowledge and understanding of both source texts;

demonstrate an understanding

of both source texts by

attempting to move beyond the surface level;

communicate a fairly good observation of the texts’ organisation and structure.

communicate basic knowledge and

understanding of both source texts or focus on one more than the other;

demonstrate some understanding of both source texts but with flaws;

communicate a limited observation of the texts’ organisation and structure.

communicate limited knowledge of both source texts or focus only on one of the texts;

demonstrate limited

understanding of both source texts;

make no reference to the texts’ organisation and structure.

4 3–2 1 0

Selection of main

ideas and Relevance of observations made

(use own words when supporting a view)

present relevant responses by selecting appropriate textual references as supporting material from

both source texts;

show excellent understanding of the relationships between source texts;

demonstrate argumentation and interpretation of the

similarities and differences.

present fairly relevant responses by selecting appropriate textual

references as supporting material

from both source texts; show good understanding of the

relationships between source texts;

choose a few good arguments to support interpretation of the similarities and differences.

present limited relevant responses with minimal appropriate textual references as supporting

evidence for both source

texts or for one more than the other;

show a fairly adequate understanding of the relationships between source texts;

choose limited arguments to

support interpretation of the similarities and differences.

show no focus;

attempt no textual references;

make inaccurate references; show no understanding of

the relationships between

source texts; make an inadequate choice

of argument, if at all.

3 2 1 0

Organisation and Structure

structure and organise their writing in a cogent

manner with a clear focus on coherence and cohesion).

structure and organise their

writing fairly coherently and cohesively.

make a poor attempt to

structure and organise their writing.

make no attempt to

structure and organise their writing.


Page 94 of 158

Marking Criteria – Extended Writing Rating Scale Controlled Assessment MQF 2-3 (based on 40 marks)


10-9 8–5 4–3 2–0

Task achievement

(content,

relevance, text

type features)

Task is achieved in full; Content is completely

relevant; Text type features are

entirely appropriate.

Task is achieved quite well; Content is mostly relevant; Text type features are mostly

appropriate.

Task is achieved in part; Content is not always relevant; Text type features are not

always appropriate.

Task is hardly achieved; Content is under-developed; Text type features are

minimally appropriate or not at all.

10-9 8–5 4–3 2–0

Language use

Varied and accurate grammatical structures and syntax;

Excellent choice of expression;

Accurate use of punctuation.

Mostly accurate grammatical structures and syntax;

Quite varied grammatical

structures; Good choice of expression; Good use of punctuation.

Grammatical structures and syntax are rather basic and sometimes inaccurate;


Adequate use of punctuation but some errors.


Limited choice of expression and with some inaccuracies;

Punctuation use is rather poor.

10–9 8–5 4–3 2–0

Organisation and

Structure

(Coherence and

Cohesion)

Structure and organise their writing in a cogent

manner; Cohesive devices are

varied and link together well.

Structure and organise their

writing into a coherent prose; Cohesive devices are quite

varied and generally correct.



Paragraph and sentence structure show lack of control.

10-9 8–5 4–3 2–0

Vocabulary and

Register

Wide-ranging and appropriate vocabulary;

Good use of register; Accurate spelling.

Good range and appropriate vocabulary;

Appropriate use of register; Mostly accurate spelling.




Limited vocabulary, possibly seen in the repetition of words;

Not sensitive to the choice of register;

Poor spelling.


Page 95 of 158

Reading : Section A Source A

6. a. differences (line 3) – the change between life in the past without technology and that

nowadays.

b. This (line 7) – the fact that children do not get enough exercise.

c. them (line 8) – children nowadays

d. they (line 37) – children exposed to high levels of technology

2 marks

7. c. it is hard to convince children to engage in physical activity rather than entertain

themselves with technological devices. 2 marks

8. a. technology poses a challenge to everyone. 2 marks

1e. Will technology improve your children’s cognitive skills? 1 mark

2.

H

D

A

C

0

G

5 marks

3. a. virtually

b. sedentary

c. drastically

d. excess

e. monitored

f. designated

3 marks

4. The negative effects of technology on children include being sedentary which can lead to

obesity as well as not spending enough time outdoors. Devices emit light which affects

sleep, causes headaches and irritability. Children also find difficulty focussing, processing

information and thinking creatively because of over-stimulation. Finally, it is hard for them

to develop emotions and they suffer low self-esteem and moodiness due to technology.

(65 words)

10 marks

5. a. True/False because sunlight supplies their body with vitamin C.

b. True/False because exposure to sunlight helps to fight infection.

c. True/False because it helps to regulate their sleep cycle.

d. True/False because it causes eye strain.

e. True/False because blue light disturbs sleep.

5 marks


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Section B Source B

1. d. most gamers play Minecraft for at least a year. 1 mark

2. a. Fact

b. Fact

c. Opinion

d. Opinion

e. Opinion

f. Opinion

6 marks

3. a. True/False because it helps with life skills which they need for academic success.

b. True/False because they can create anything they can imagine using blocks.

c. True/False because players have to be fast thinkers to survive in the game.

d. True/False because there is no way to win.

e. True/False because the cooperation involved is endless.

f. True/False because it aims to persuade readers that the game is educational.

6 marks

4. a. work their way

b. made up

c. figure out

d. team up

4 marks

5. a. it’s no secret

b. comes into play

c. think on your feet

3 marks


Page 97 of 158

Specimen Assessments: Controlled Paper MQF 2-3: Speaking


PAPER NUMBER: Level 2–3 Speaking

DATE:

TIME: 10 Minutes

Brief

The Speaking Task involves two parts: (i) an ice-breaker which aims to allow candidates time to feel at

ease, and (ii) a long turn that includes two minutes for candidates to think and reflect on the topic that

they choose from a list of three titles. Following this time period, candidates are expected to speak about

the topic for about three minutes. The task should last approximately 10 minutes.

Here are the instructions for both examiners and candidates to follow during the speaking task.

PART 1 – Guided Examiner-to-Candidate Conversation (about 2 minutes)


Good morning/afternoon. Please have a seat.

In this part of the task, I am going to ask you some questions about yourself. May I remind you to please

speak up so that I may hear you, and remember to answer questions as fully as possible.

Let’s talk about you.

1. How did you spend your last summer break?

2. What are your plans for the next school holiday?

3. How do you organise your time during school term?

[If the candidate answers a question too briefly or is unable to move beyond one- or two-

word responses, the examiner should move on to the next question or to the second task.]

After the candidate has answered all the questions in the set, the examiner says:

Thank you. Now we shall proceed to the second part of the task.


EXAMINATIONS BOARD


SAMPLE PAPER


Page 98 of 158

PART 2 – Guided Examiner-to-Candidate Long Turn (about 3 minutes)


In this part of the task, you are to speak for about three minutes on the topic you’ve chosen. Before

you start your discussion, you have two minutes to recollect your thoughts on the topic. Here’s a pencil

and paper to write some notes. You may refer to these notes during your discussion.

The examiner hands a pencil and a sheet of paper to the candidate and waits for two minutes.

At the end of the two minutes, the examiner tells the candidate:

All right? Which title have you chosen?

The examiner waits for the candidate to pronounce the title. The examiner then says:

You may begin.

Titles:

1. Celebrities have a positive effect on teenagers. Discuss.

2. Teenagers today are typically very busy. Discuss.

3. Choosing our means of transportation wisely will help us improve our quality of life. Discuss.

If the examiner notes that the candidate is unable to maintain discourse for the required

THREE minutes, the examiner should pose just ONE prompt to assist the candidate. If the

candidate is still unable to proceed, then the examiner should bring the task to an end.]

After the candidate has concluded the presentation, the examiner says:

Thank you. May I have the paper back, please? This is the end of the speaking task.


Page 99 of 158

Marking Criteria – Speaking Controlled Assessment MQF 2-3 (based on 100 marks)

(100 marks) MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 2

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Vocabulary

(includes

register)

Vocabulary range and accuracy are sufficient to


on a wide variety of familiar and unfamiliar topics;

Word choice is appropriate and sensitive to register;

Expression is consistently

idiomatic; Paraphrasing is

consistently successful;


accuracy are sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete, and

general topics; Word choice is mostly

appropriate and sensitive to register;

Expression is mostly idiomatic;

Paraphrases mostly successful;


Word choice is fairly appropriate

but not consistently sensitive to register;

Expression is sometimes idiomatic;

Paraphrases is fairly successful.


Word choice is often inappropriate and mostly not

sensitive to register; Expression is rarely idiomatic; Paraphrasing is sometimes used

when lacking vocabulary, but this is not always successful.

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Spoken

Grammar

An excellent range of accurate structures are produced with ease;

Grammatical structures are varied even though dominated by chained clauses, and sentence

patterns are consistently well controlled;

Utterances, which may constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g. chunks and clusters, ellipses), are well

controlled and show evidence of fluency.

A good range of structures are produced with some ease;

Grammatical structures are quite varied even though dominated by chained clauses, and sentence patterns are mostly well

controlled; Utterances, which may

constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g. chunks and clusters, ellipses), are quite well controlled.

A fair range of structures are produced with some inaccuracies;

Grammatical structures are fairly varied even though dominated by chained clauses, and

sentence patterns are fairly well

controlled; Errors sometimes interfere with

meaning.

A limited range of structures is produced with a fair amount of inaccuracies;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not always

well controlled; Errors frequently sometimes



Page 100 of 158

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Intelligibility

(pronunciation

& stress)

Communication is effortless and intelligible;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation

never interfere with ease of understanding.

Communication is clearly intelligible;


rarely interfere with ease of understanding.

Communication is mostly intelligible;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation sometimes interfere with ease of understanding, but never put strain on the listener.

Communication is quite intelligible but with evidence of difficulties in some parts;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation interfere quite

frequently with ease of understanding, and/or put strain on the listener.

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Discourse

Management

(structure,

connectors,

etc.) &

Coherence

Stretches of language with appropriate tempo;

Consistent fluency with effective communication;

Speech is rarely affected by repetitions, pauses

and self-correction, and these never interfere with ease of understanding;

Discourse markers and connectors are used well

and spontaneously;

Consistently appropriate and well-structured ideas which follow a clear sequence;

Whenever necessary, organizational patterns are employed effectively

and competently; Fillers are used

appropriately.

Stretches of language with mostly appropriate tempo;

Mostly fluent with effective communication;

Speech is sometimes affected by repetitions, pauses and self-correction, but these rarely interfere

with ease of understanding; Discourse markers and

connectors are used well. Mostly appropriate and

quite well structured ideas which follow a clear sequence;

Whenever necessary, organizational patterns are employed effectively;

Fillers are mostly used appropriately.

Stretches of language with fairly appropriate tempo;

Fairly fluent with some ineffective communication;

Speech is somewhat affected by

repetitions, pauses and self-correction, but these only interfere sometimes with ease of

understanding; Discourse markers and

connectors are used mostly well; Whenever necessary,

organizational patterns are employed fairly effectively.



Hesitations or slowness in

language processing may prevent effective communication’

Speech is often affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these sometimes

interfere with ease of understanding;

Some use of discourse markers or connectors;

Speech is fairly structured talk but shows difficulty in remaining coherent;



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Specimen Assessments: Private Candidates’ Controlled Paper

MQF 1-2: Speaking


EXAMINATIONS BOARD


Private Candidate’s Sample Paper



DATE:

TIME: 10 min

Brief

The Speaking task consists of three parts:

(i) a warmer which aims to put candidates at ease and is not assessed,

(ii) a role play that presents candidates with a scenario which requires them to interact with the

interlocutor, and

(iii) a guided teacher-to-student conversation which includes questions about a particular topic.

Part 1 - Warmer: The examiner greets the candidate, puts them at ease and asks the following

questions:

a) How are you?

b) Tell me about yourself.

Part 2 - Role Play:


Good morning/afternoon. Please have seat. Are you ready to start? May I remind you to speak up so

that I can hear you and remember to try and make your responses as long as possible.


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Explain to Candidate:

Last week you bought a t-shirt and it’s damaged. You go back to the shop to ask for your money back.

In this situation, I will play the role of the shop assistant.

Examiner: Hello, how can I help you?

Candidate: Greet the shop assistant. Explain the problem with the t-shirt.

Examiner: Oh! I’m sorry about this…Do you have the receipt, by any chance?

Candidate: Explain that you don’t have the receipt and give details of when you bought the t-

shirt.

Examiner: I’m afraid I can’t help you if you don’t have the receipt.

Candidate: Explain why you think you should get your money back.

Examiner: I can’t do that, I’m afraid. Maybe you can have a look at home and come back when you find

the receipt?

Candidate: Refuse politely and ask to speak to the owner of the shop.

Examiner: Perhaps it’s best to leave your telephone number and I’ll be in touch after I speak to my boss.

Candidate: Agree and give your contact details.

Examiner: I’ll get back to you….thank you.

Candidate: Thank the shop assistant.


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Candidate’s Paper

Read the situation and complete the dialogue by following all the six prompts in the order given below.

Last week you bought a t-shirt and it’s damaged. You go back to the shop to ask for your money back.

In this situation, I will play the role of the shop assistant.

Examiner:

Candidate: Greet the shop assistant. Explain the problem with the t-shirt.

Examiner:

Candidate: Explain that you don’t have the receipt and give details of when you bought the t-

shirt.

Examiner:

Candidate: Explain why you think you should get your money back.

Examiner:

Candidate: Refuse politely and ask to speak to the owner of the shop.

Examiner:


Examiner:

Candidate: Thank the shop assistant.


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Part 3 - Guided Teacher-to-Student Conversation

Examiner’s Paper

Tell the candidate: In this part of the exam, I’m going to ask you to talk about Free time. May I remind

you to answer the questions as fully as possible.

1. Look at the diagram: a) What does it tell you about teenagers and free time?

b) Mention one reason why teenagers spend their time in this way.

Ask the candidate any 4 questions from the list below in order to keep them talking for 5 minutes. Do

not improvise or change any of the questions. If necessary, repeat each question once.

Free time

2. Tell me about your favourite hobby.

3. What sport do you like to do or watch in your free time? Tell me about it.

4. How do you make use of the internet in your free time?

5. Tell me about the place you like to visit most when you’re free.

6. What can you do to help others in your free time?

7. Tell me about what you do to help at home in your free time.

8. Tell me about what you like reading in your free time.

_________________________________________________________________________________

58%

23%

10%

9%

Teenagers and Free Time

Socialmedia

Watching movies

Sport

Going

out


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Part 3 – Guided Teacher-to-Student Conversation

Candidate’s Paper

The examiner will ask you questions about the following topic:

Free time

58%

23%

10%

9%


Socialmedia

Watching movies

Sport

Going

out


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MQF 1-2


PAPER NUMBER: Level 1 – 2 (Listening Comprehension Examiner’s Sheet)

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Procedure for Listening Comprehension Private Candidate’s Paper

Listening MQF 1-2

Procedure for Listening Comprehension Text 1:







Candidates are given three minutes to answer all the questions.


Transcript

Part 1

There were no books in Elinor’s kitchen, not one, but they ate an excellent supper there at the wooden

table that came, so Elinor assured them, from an Italian monastery. Meggie doubted it. As far as she

knew, the monks had worked at desks with sloping tops, but she kept this information to herself. Instead,

she took another slice of bread, and was just wondering how nice the cheese standing on the table would

be when she noticed Mo whispering something to Elinor. Since Elinor’s eyes widened greedily, Meggie

concluded that they could only be discussing a book, and she immediately thought of brown paper, a

pale green binding and the anger in Mo’s voice.

Beside her, Dustfinger secretly slipped a slice of ham into his rucksack for Gwin’s supper. Meggie saw a

round nose emerge from the rucksack, snuffling in the hope of more delicacies. Dustfinger smiled at

Meggie when he noticed her looking at him and gave Gwin some more ham. He didn’t seem to find

anything odd about Mo and Elinor’s whispering, but Meggie was sure the two of them were planning

something secret.


EXAMINATIONS BOARD


PRIVATE CANDIDATE’S SAMPLE PAPER


Page 107 of 158

After a short time Mo rose from the table and went out. Meggie asked Elinor where the bathroom was

and followed him.

Part 2

It was a strange feeling to be spying on Mo. She couldn’t remember ever doing it before – except last

night, when Dustfinger had arrived. She was ashamed of stealing after him like this, but it was his own

fault. Why was he hiding the book from her? And now he might be going to give it to Elinor- a book

Meggie wasn’t allowed to see! Meggie hadn’t been able to get it out of her head. She had even looked

for it in Mo’s bag before he loaded his things into the van, but she couldn’t find it.

She just had to see it before it disappeared, maybe into one of Elinor’s display cases! She had to know

why it meant so much to Mo that, for its sake, he would drag her all the way here.

He looked round once more in the entrance hall before leaving the house, but Meggie ducked down

behind a chest just in time. The chest smelled of lavender. She decided to stay in hiding there until Mo

came back. He’d be sure to see her if she went out of doors. Time passed painfully slowly, as it always

does when you’re waiting for something with your heart thumping hard. The books in the white bookcases

seemed to be watching Meggie, but they said nothing to her, as if they sensed that there was only one

book Meggie could think about just now.

Finally, Mo came back carrying a package wrapped in brown paper. Perhaps he’s just going to hide it

here, thought Meggie. Where would you hide a book better than among ten thousand others? Yes, Mo

was going to leave it here and then they’d drive home again. But I would like to see it, thought Meggie,

just once before it’s put on one of those shelves I’m supposed to stay three paces away from.

Mo passed her so close that she could have touched him, but he didn’t notice her. ‘ Meggie, don’t look

at me like that!’ he sometimes told her. ‘You’re reading my thoughts again.’

Now he looked anxious - as if he wasn’t quite sure he was doing the right thing. Meggie counted slowly

to three before following her father, but a couple of times Mo stopped so suddenly that Meggie almost

ran into him. He didn’t return to the kitchen but went straight into the library. Without looking back once,

he opened the door with the Venetian printer’s mark on it and closed it quietly behind him.

So, there stood Meggie among all the silent books, wondering whether to follow him and ask him to show

her the book. Would he be angry? She was just about to summon up the courage and go after him when

she heard footsteps – rapid, firm footsteps, quick and impatient. That could only be Elinor. Now what?

(Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Chapter 4)


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Procedure for the Listening Comprehension Text 2:

Candidates are given four minutes to read all the questions.


Candidates are given four minutes to answer the questions.


Candidates are given another four minutes to answer the questions.


6 Minute English : Beating a Sedentary Lifestyle.

Catherine: Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Catherine.

Dan: And I’m Dan.

Catherine: Now Dan, would you say you had a sedentary lifestyle at all?

Dan: If I only went to work, yes. I would have a pretty sedentary life – I sit on the tube, I sit at my

desk or in the studio, for most of the day. But because I know that’s not good for my health, I do also

like to go to the gym a couple of times a week and I’ll do some exercise, like a bike ride or playing

football at the weekend. So, my job is pretty sedentary, but not my life.

Catherine: Nice answer Dan. And our topic today is about how one country in particular has been very

successful in dealing with the problem of a sedentary population. But before we find out more, here’s

today’s question: According to a recent survey, how long does the average person in the UK spend sitting

down every day? Is it:

a) Between 6 and 7 hours

b) Between 7 and 8 hours or

c) Between 8 and 9 hours?

So, Dan, what do you think?

Dan: Based on my day, it would be between 8 and 9 hours. But I don’t know if I’m an average person!

So I’m interested to learn the answer for myself.

Catherine: We’ll find out the answer later in the programme.

Now, 40 years ago, Finland was perhaps the unhealthiest country in the western world. But now it’s one

of the healthiest.

Dan: Death by heart disease in Finland has fallen by 80% and life expectancy, the age at which the

average person lives until, has risen by 10 years.

Catherine: How has this been achieved? This was investigated on BBC Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’

programme and one of the ways Finland has improved the health of the nation is by a lot of state

involvement. BBC reporter John Laurenson describes in a humorous way how this works. How does he

describe someone with many health problems?

John Laurenson: If you’re an exercise shirker because you’re fat or old or asthmatic or chained to your

computer or just plain lazy or all of those things rolled into one super-health disaster zone, they will

come to you in the form, perhaps of a stern lady with a clipboard and make some firm suggestions. They


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won’t actually drag you off your PlayStation, out of your nursing home or out of the pub, but they do get

quite close.

Catherine: How did he describe someone with a lot of health problems, Dan?

Dan: Well, he wasn’t very complimentary, and we should emphasise that this report is quite tongue-in-

cheek, which means it’s meant to be funny and shouldn’t be taken seriously. But he called the people

with many health problems, ‘Super-Health Disaster Zones’.

(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/thai/features/6-minute-english/ep-180906 (3:01))

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/thai/features/6-minute-english/ep-180906


Page 110 of 158


EXAMINATIONS BOARD




PAPER NUMBER: Level 1 – 2

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Section A: Listening (50 marks)

Text 1: Listen to an extract from the audio book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and answer the questions

that follow.

Part 1

1. Match the items in column A to the items in column B according to what you have listened to. The first

one has been done for you. (5 marks)

A B

a Elinor puts ham into the rucksack

b Elinor leaves the kitchen first

c Meggie speaks about the kitchen table

d Dustfinger is hidden in the rucksack

e Gwin a has no books in her kitchen

f Mo wanted to eat some cheese

2. Underline the correct word in brackets. (5 marks)

a) Meggie was (quite sure, confident, not sure) that the kitchen table came from an Italian

monastery.

b) Meggie noticed that Mo and Elinor were whispering (before she ate, while she was

eating, after she had eaten) another slice of bread.

c) Meggie (was told, gathered, misunderstood) that Mo and Elinor were discussing a book.

d) Dustfinger was (unworried, unimpressed, surprised) when Mo and Elinor spoke softly.

e) Meggie needed an excuse to (speak to Elinor, give Gwin more ham, go after Mo).


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Part 2

3. Are the following True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason. (5 marks)

a. Meggie looked for the book in the van.

True/False because_______________________________________________________________

b. Meggie wanted to know why the book was so important to Mo.


c. Meggie thought that Mo would see her if she went outside.


d. When Mo passed by Meggie, he looked worried.


e. Meggie never considered asking Mo to show her the book.


4. Tick () the 5 sentences which describe Meggie. (5 marks)

She felt guilty about following Mo.

She regretted looking for the book the night before.

She wanted to see the book badly.

She blamed Mo for hiding the book from her.

She gave importance to the books in the white bookcases.

She was certain that Mo was going to place the book on one of the shelves.

She did not give much consideration to Mo’s reaction if he were to find her in the hall.

She was afraid to follow Mo into the library.

5. Put the following sentences in the correct order according to what you have listened to. Number

them 1 to 5. The first one (0) has been done for you. (5 marks)

Meggie counted to three.

Mo opened the door to the library.

Mo left the house. 0.

Meggie hid behind the chest.

Mo came in with a brown package.

Meggie heard footsteps.


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Text 2: Listen to the audio clip from BBC 6 minute English and answer the questions that follow.

1. Fill in the missing information in the grid below. The first one has been done for you. (2 marks)

6-minute English: Beating a sedentary

lifestyle the name of the programme

the name of the woman who presents the

programme

the name of the man who presents the

programme

2. Underline the correct answer in brackets. (8 marks)

a. Dan’s (hobby, job, lifestyle) is sedentary.

b. The topic of the programme is about the way (a country, a small number of countries, several

countries) dealt with health problems.

c. Dan spends (less than eight hours, more than eight hours, more than ten hours) sitting down

every day.

d. Dan (is curious about, doesn’t care about, knows) the answer to the question in the survey.

e. An average person in Finland (now lives longer than before, always lives the same number of

years, lives a shorter life by 80%).

f. The health of the Finnish people improved as a result of (private health service, the government

taking an active role, free advice from doctors).

g. John Laurenson describes exercise shirkers (jokingly, enthusiastically, harshly) because they

(enjoy, promote, avoid) moving about.

h. (Dan, Catherine, John Laurenson) called people with health problems Super-Health Disaster

Zones.

3. Tick () the FOUR statements below which John Laurenson makes about the way Finland has helped

people with many health problems. (4 marks)

A woman mentioned the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Sedentary people were handed a list of unhealthy foods.

A lady approached sedentary people.

Recommendations were made for leading a healthier lifestyle.

Video games were taken away from people who led a sedentary life.

Sedentary people were encouraged to move about.

Sedentary people at a pub were given a speech.

Visits were made to places where sedentary people were likely to be found.


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4. Fill in the missing information in the grid below. (9 marks)

a. One of the places where Dan sits on an average day

b. The number of times a week that Dan goes to the gym

c. An activity Dan does at the weekend

d. The country in which a recent survey was conducted

e. The number of questions asked in the survey

f. How long ago Finland was one of the unhealthiest countries in the

western world

g. The percentage drop of Finnish people suffering from heart conditions

h. The name of the programme on BBC Radio 4

i. The profession of John Laurenson

5. Based on what you have heard, list TWO reasons why people do not exercise. (2 marks)

a. _____________________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________________________________________


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Section B: Reading (25 marks)

Read the following extract and answer the questions about each section.

Section 1

Meggie had always thought Mo had a lot of books. Meggie never thought so again, not after she set foot

in Elinor's house.

There were no messy piles lying around as they did at home. Every book obviously had its place. But

where other people have wallpaper, pictures or just an empty wall, Elinor had bookshelves. The shelves

were white and went right up to the ceiling in the entrance hall through which she first led them but in 5

the next room and the corridor beyond it the shelves were as black as the tiles on the floor.

'These books,' said Elinor with a negative gesture as they passed the rows of books, 'have accumulated

over the years. They're not particularly valuable, mostly of mediocre quality, nothing out of the ordinary.

If you can’t control yourself and take one off the shelf now and then,' she added, giving Meggie a bad

look, 'I don't suppose it would be too serious. Just so long as once you’ve satisfied your curiosity, you 10

put every book back in its right place again and don't leave any unpleasant bookmarks inside.' Here,

Elinor turned to Mo. 'Believe it or not,' she said, ' I actually found a dried-up slice of salami used as a

bookmark in one of the last books I bought, a wonderful nineteenth-century first edition.'



a) After she went into Elinor’s house, Meggie thought that

i. Mo had a lot of books

ii. Elinor had more books than Mo

iii. Elinor had as many books as Meggie

iv. Mo only had a few books.

b) Meggie never thought so again not after she set foot in Elinor’s house (lines 1-2). She refers to

(Meggie, Elinor, Mo).

2. Are the following True or False? Tick () the correct box below. (3 marks)

True False

a. The books at Meggie’s house were not all in their place.

b. There were many pictures on the wall in Elinor’s house.

c. The only bookshelves at Elinor’s house were in the hall.

d. Elinor’s bookshelves were all white.

e. Elinor built her collection of books gradually.

f. Elinor’s books all cost a lot of money.


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3. Tick ( ) the correct box below: (½ mark)

They’re not particularly valuable, mostly of mediocre quality…(line 7).

The word mediocre is

Positive

Neutral

Negative

4. What two things did Meggie have to do if she wanted to take a book off the shelves? (2 marks)

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

5. Underline the correct answer: (½ mark)

Elinor says, ‘Believe it or not, I found a slice of dried-up salami used as a bookmark’ (lines 12-13).

The words in bold show the reader that Elinor finds it (curious, funny, shocking).

6. Elinor shows Meggie the books on the bookshelves. Who else is there with them? (1 mark)

_________________________________________________________________________________

7. Find a word or a phrase between lines 12 and 13 which shows: (2 marks)

a) that Elinor liked the book in which she found the bookmark ____________________________

b) when the book was written ______________________________________________________


Page 116 of 158

Section 2

Meggie couldn't help giggling, which naturally earned her another stern look. 'It's nothing to laugh about,

young lady,' said Elinor. 'Some of the most wonderful books ever printed were lost because some fool of 15

a fishmonger tore out their pages to wrap his stinking fish. In the Middle Ages, thousands of books were

destroyed when people cut up their bindings to make soles for shoes or to heat steam baths with their

paper.' The thought of such incredible abominations, even if they had occurred centuries ago, made

Elinor gasp for air. 'Well, let's forget about that,' she said, 'or I shall get overexcited. My blood pressure's

much too high as it is.' 20

She had stopped in front of a door which had an anchor with a dolphin coiled around it painted on the

white wood.

‘This is a famous printer’s special sign,’ explained Elinor, stroking the dolphin’s pointed nose with one

finger. ‘Just the thing for a library door, eh?’

‘I know,’ said Meggie. ‘Aldus Manutius. He lived in Venice and printed books the right size to fit into his 25

customers’ saddlebags.’

‘Really?’ Elinor wrinkled her brow, intrigued. ‘I didn’t know that. In any case, I am the fortunate owner

of a book that he printed with his own hands in the year 1503.’

‘You mean it’s from his workshop,‘ Meggie corrected her.

‘Of course that’s what I mean.’ As she cleared her throat, Elinor gave Mo a reproachful glance, as if it 30

could only be his fault that his daughter was precocious enough to know such things. Then she put her

hand on the door handle. ‘No child,’ she said, as she pressed the handle down with almost solemn

reverence, ‘has ever passed through this door, but as I assume your father has taught you a certain

respect for books I’ll make an exception today. However, only on condition you keep at least three paces

away from the shelves. Is that agreed? 35

(Adapted from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke)


8. What two other uses did books have in the past, according to Elinor? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________


In line 18, the word abominations in the phrase incredible abominations means:

a. stories

b. happenings

c. wrongdoings

d. solutions


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10. Explain how the writer’s use of the phrase made Elinor gasp for air (line 19) helps the reader

understand what Elinor is like. (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

11. Tick ( ) the correct box below: (½ mark)

The printer’s sign which Elinor shows Meggie on the library door is:

12. In your own words, explain how Elinor feels when Meggie corrects her. (1 mark)

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

13. Find a phrase made up of 2 words between lines 26 and 30 which shows that Elinor considers the

library a very special place. (1 mark)

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

14. What do the following words refer to in the text? (1½ marks)

a. their (line 17) ____________________________

b. He (line 25) ____________________________

c. she (line 30) ____________________________

15a. Why does Elinor allow Meggie into the library even though she is a child? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________

b. On what condition does Elinor allow Meggie in? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________

c. Why do you think Elinor makes this condition? (1 mark)

________________________________________________________________________________

a. b. c.


Page 118 of 158

Answer the following questions about Section 1 and Section 2


The purpose of this extract is to (inform, persuade, entertain) the reader.

17. Put the following sentences in the correct order. Number them 1 to 5. The first one (0) has been

done for you. (3 marks)

a. Elinor speaks about the sign on the door.

b. Elinor talks about books in the past.

c. Elinor learns something new from Meggie.

d. Elinor shows Meggie around the house. 0.

e. Elinor warns Meggie that the books should be kept in their place.

f. Elinor states the one rule Meggie has to follow in the library.

g. Elinor starts to open the door to the library.

18. Meggie could not help giggling which naturally earned her another stern look. (line 12).

a. Why could Meggie not help giggling? (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________________

b. Who gives Meggie the first stern look? Find a phrase made up of 2 words between lines 5 and 10

which shows this. (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________________


Page 119 of 158

Section C: Writing (25 marks)


The Student Council at your school is offering a prize for the best short story. Choose ONE of the following

as your entry to this competition:

1. ‘The Library’.

2. Write a story including the following in any order you wish:

a bookcase a loud noise a young boy with a mobile phone

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________


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__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________


Page 121 of 158

Rating Scale- Speaking – Private Candidate’s Paper MQF 1-2 (based on 100 marks)

MQF 2 MQF 2 MQF 1







25-19 18-11 10-0

Vocabulary

(includes

register)


Word choice is sometimes inappropriate; Paraphrasing is sometimes used when lacking

vocabulary, but this is not always successful;

Error in word choice sometimes effects communication.


Word choice is often inappropriate; Is often unable to paraphrase successfully

when lacking vocabulary;

Error in word choice frequently effects communication.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are often insufficient to communicate on topic, and range is very limited;

Word choice is very often inappropriate; Does not paraphrase successfully when lacking

vocabulary

Errors in word choice effect communication completely.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Spoken

Grammar

A range of structures but with some inaccuracies;

Errors mostly occur when attempting complex structures;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns might not be controlled well;


A limited range of structures and these might contain errors;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not always well controlled;

Errors frequently interfere with meaning.

A very limited range of structures and these often contain errors;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not well controlled;

Errors interfere with meaning.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Intelligibility

(pronunciation

& stress)

Communication is quite intelligible but with there is evidence of difficulties in some parts;


sometimes interfere with ease of understanding, and/or put strain on the listener.

Communication is only intelligible in some parts;


Communication is inadequate; Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation

interfere frequently with ease of understanding, and put strain on the listener.

25-19 18-11 10-0

Discourse

Management

(structure,

connectors, etc.)

& Coherence


There may be loss of fluency, and this at times prevents effective communication;

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these sometimes interfere

with ease of understanding; Some use of discourse markers or connectors; Talk is structured talk but shows difficulty in

remaining coherent;


Stretches of language, but tempo is often inappropriate;

Hesitations or slowness in language processing may prevent effective communication’

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these regularly interfere

with ease of understanding; Limited use of discourse markers or

connectors; Talk is structured but with some difficulty;


Limited stretches of language, and tempo is often inappropriate;

Hesitations or slowness in language processing often prevent effective communication;

Speech is affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐correction and these often interfere with

ease of understanding; Minimal use of discourse markers and/or

connectors. Talk is structure talk but with difficulty;

Fillers are distracting.


Page 122 of 158

Marking Scheme

Section A: Listening

Part 1

1.

A B

a Elinor d puts ham into the rucksack

b Elinor f leaves the kitchen first

c Meggie b speaks about the kitchen table

d Dustfinger e is hidden in the rucksack

e Gwin a has no books in her kitchen

f Mo c wanted to eat some cheese

5

marks

2. a. not sure

b. after she had eaten

c. gathered

d. unworried

e. go after Mo

5

marks

Part 2

3. a. True/False because she looked for it in Mo’s bag.

b. True/False because she had to know why it meant so much to him.

c. True/False because he was sure to see her if she went outside.

d. True/False because he looked anxious.

e. True/False because she wondered whether to ask Mo to show her the book.

5

marks

4.

She felt guilty about following Mo.

She regretted looking for the book the night before.

She wanted to see the book badly.

She blamed Mo for hiding the book from her.

She gave importance to the books in the white bookcases.

She was certain that Mo was going to place the book on one of the shelves.

She did not give much consideration to Mo’s reaction if he were to find her in the hall.

She was afraid to follow Mo into the library.

5

marks

5.

Meggie counted to three. 3

Mo opened the door to the library. 4

Mo left the house. 0.

Meggie hid behind the chest. 1

Mo came in with a brown package. 2

Meggie heard footsteps. 5

5

marks


Page 123 of 158

Text 2

1. 0. Beating a Sedentary Lifestyle.

a. i. Dan

ii. Caroline

1 mark

2. a. Dan’s (hobby, job, lifestyle) is sedentary.

b. The topic of the programme is about the way (a country, a small number of countries,

several countries) dealt with health problems.

c. Dan spends (less than eight hours, more than eight hours, more than ten hours) sitting

down every day.

d. Dan (is curious about, doesn’t care about, knows) the answer to the question in the

survey.

e. An average person in Finland (now lives longer than before, always lives the same

number of years, lives a shorter life by 80%).

f. The health of the Finnish people improved as a result of (private health service, the

government taking an active role, free advice from doctors).

g. John Laurenson describes exercise shirkers (jokingly, enthusiastically, harshly)

because they (enjoy, promote, avoid) moving about.

h. (Dan, Catherine, John Laurenson) called people with health problems Super-Health

Disaster Zones.

9

marks

3. A woman mentioned the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Sedentary people were handed a list of unhealthy foods.

A lady approached sedentary people.

Recommendations were made for leading a healthier lifestyle.

Video games were taken away from people who led a sedentary life.

Sedentary people were encouraged to move about.

Sedentary people at a pub were given a speech.

Visits were made to places where sedentary people were likely to be found.

4

marks

4. a. One of the places where Dan sits on an

average day

At his desk

b. The number of times a week that Dan goes to

the gym

Two/a couple

c. An activity Dan does at the weekend Plays football/rides his

bike

d The country in which a recent survey was

conducted

UK

e The number of questions asked in the survey 1

f How long ago Finland was one of the

unhealthiest countries in the western world

40

g The percentage drop of Finnish people

suffering from heart conditions

80

h The name of the programme on BBC Radio 4 You and yours

i The profession of John Laurenson reporter

9

marks

5. i. because they’re fat/old/asthmatic

ii. because they’re chained to their computer/ they’re lazy.

2

marks


Page 124 of 158

Section B: Reading

Section 1

1. a. ii. Elinor had more books than Mo

b. Meggie 1 mark

2.

True False

a. The books at Meggie’s house were not all in their place.

b. There were many pictures on the wall in Elinor’s house.

c. The only bookshelves at Elinor’s house were in the hall.

d. Elinor’s bookshelves were all white.

e. Elinor built her collection of books gradually.

d. Elinor’s books all cost a lot of money.

3 marks

3. Negative ½ mark

4. She would have to put them back in their place and not leave any bookmarks. 2 marks

5. shocking ½ mark

6. Mo is there with them. 1 mark

7. a. wonderful

b. 19th century 2 marks

Section 2

8. Books were used to make soles for shoes or to heat steam baths. 1 mark

9. c. wrongdoings ½ mark

10. Elinor gives so much importance to books that she cannot imagine anyone destroying

them. 1 mark

11. b. ½ mark

12. Elinor is embarrassed and tries to cover it up. 1 mark

13. solemn reverence 1 mark

14. a. their (line 17)-people’s

b. He (line 25)-Aldus Mantius/the famous printer

c. she (line 30)-Elinor

1 ½

mark

15. a. Elinor thinks that Mo has taught Meggie to respect books.

b. Meggie has to stay away from the shelves.

c. Elinor wants to make sure that Elinor is not tempted to touch any of the books.

1 x 3

mark

16. Entertain ½ mark

17. a. Elinor speaks about the sign on the door. 3

b. Elinor talks about books in the past. 2

c. Elinor learns something new from Meggie. 4

d. Elinor shows Meggie around the house. 0.

e. Elinor warns Meggie that the books should be kept in their place. 1

f. Elinor states the rule Meggie has to follow in the library. 5

g. Elinor starts to open the door to the library. 6

3 marks

18. a. She found the idea of making use of a slice of salami as a bookmark amusing.

b. Elinor gives Meggie the first stern look. The phrase which shows this is ‘bad look’.

1x2

mark


Page 125 of 158

Marking Criteria – Writing Rating Scale Private Candidate’s Paper 1 MQF 1-2 (based on 100 marks)

MQF 2 MQF 2 MQF 1 MQF 1

100 marks Writing typically shows that: Writing typically shows

that: Writing typically shows that:

Writing typically shows

that:

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Task

Achievement

Task is achieved but with some

flaws;


Features of a narrative are

moderately appropriate.


Content is only partly

relevant;


partly appropriate.


Content is underdeveloped;




Content is mostly irrelevant;


mostly inappropriate.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Grammar Moderately accurate use of

grammatical structures and syntax;

Partly accurate use of

grammatical structures and

syntax;

Basic use of grammatical structures

and syntax;

Inaccurate use of


syntax;

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Spelling and

Punctuation

Moderately accurate use of spelling

and punctuation.

Adequate use of spelling and

punctuation.

Fair use of spelling and punctuation

with some errors.

Poor use of spelling and

punctuation with many

errors.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Organisation

and

Structure

Writing is moderately coherently

structured and organised;

Paragraph features are mostly

adhered to;

Sentences and paragraphs are

mostly cohesively linked.

Writing is partly coherently


Paragraph features are partly

adhered to;

Sentences and paragraphs

are cohesively linked.

Writing is fairly coherently


Paragraph features are somewhat

evident;

Sentences and paragraphs are fairly

cohesively linked.

Writing is poorly structured

and organised;

Paragraph features are hardly

adhered to;


are not cohesively linked.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Vocabulary

and Register

Wide range of vocabulary;

Excellent choice of register.

Good range of vocabulary;

Appropriate choice of

register.

Fair range of vocabulary;

Adequate choice of register.

Limited choice of vocabulary;

Register is mostly ignored.


Page 126 of 158

Marking Criteria – Writing Rating Scale Private Candidate’s Paper 1 MQF 1-2

Total (___/100)*25


Page 127 of 158


MQF 2-3: Speaking



DATE:

TIME: 10 min

Brief

The Speaking task consists of three parts: (i) a warmer which aims to put candidates at ease and is not

assessed, (ii) a role play that presents candidates with a scenario which requires them to interact with

the interlocutor, and (iii) a guided teacher-to-student conversation which includes questions about a

particular topic.

Part 1 - Warmer: The examiner greets the candidate, puts them at ease and asks the following

questions:

a) How are you?

b) Tell me about yourself.

Part 2 - Role Play:

Explain to Candidate:

You’ve just been to a restaurant with some friends and you’re not happy with the service given.

You make a complaint to the manager.

In this situation, I will play the role of the restaurant manager.

Examiner: Hello, how can I help you?

Candidate: Greet the manager. Say how disappointed you are with the service.




Private Candidate’s Sample Paper


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Examiner: Oh! I’m sorry about this…What is the problem exactly?

Candidate: Give details about what happened and complain about the service.

Examiner: I see…. I’m afraid we are short-staffed today. Can I offer you a drink to make up for it?

Candidate: Refuse politely and ask for a full refund instead.

Examiner: I can’t do that, I’m afraid. How about a voucher for a free dessert next time you visit?

Candidate: Refuse politely and persuade the manager to give you some other form of

compensation.

Examiner: Perhaps it’s best to leave your telephone number and I’ll be in touch after I speak to my boss.


Examiner: I’ll be in touch….thank you.

Candidate: Thank the manager.


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Candidate’s Paper

Read the situation and complete the dialogue by following all the six prompts in the order given below.

You’ve just been to a restaurant with some friends and you’re not happy with the service

given. You make a complaint to the manager.

In this situation, I will play the role of the restaurant manager.

Examiner:

Candidate: Greet the manager. Say how disappointed you are with the service.

Examiner:

Candidate: Give details about what happened and complain about the service.

Examiner:

Candidate: Refuse politely and ask for a full refund instead.

Examiner:

Candidate: Refuse politely and persuade the manager to give you some other form of

compensation.

Examiner:


Examiner:

Candidate: Thank the manager.


Page 130 of 158

Part 3 – Guided Teacher-to-Student conversation

Examiner’s Paper

Tell the candidate: In this part of the test, I’m going to ask you some questions about Free time. May

I remind you to answer the questions as fully as possible.

1. Look at the diagram: a) What does it tell you about teenagers and free time?

b) Mention one reason why teenagers spend their time in this way.

Ask the candidate any 4 questions from the list below in order to keep them talking for 5 minutes. Do

not improvise or change any of the questions. If necessary, repeat each question once.

2. Tell me about a hobby which you’d like to take up in the future.

3. How will technology affect our free time in the future?

4. Do you think that children have enough free time? Why/Why not?

5. Do you think that young people make good use of their free time? Why?

6. If you had to choose between visiting a new country and helping others in your free time, which would

you choose? Why?

7. How has the way young people spend their free time changed?

8. What can be done to encourage young people to spend more of their time reading?

58%

23%

10%

9%


Socialmedia

Watching movies

Sport

Going

out


Page 131 of 158

Part 3 – Guided Teacher-to-Student Conversation

Candidate’s Paper

The examiner will ask you questions about the following topic:

Free time

58%

23%

10%

9%


Socialmedia

Watching movies

Sport

Going

out


Page 132 of 158


MQF 2-3


PAPER NUMBER: Level 2 – 3 (Listening Comprehension Examiner’s Sheet)

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Procedure for Listening Comprehension Private Candidate’s Paper

Listening MQF 2-3

Procedure for Listening Comprehension Text 1:

Candidates are given four minutes to read all the questions.


Candidates are given three minutes to answer the questions about Part 1.


Candidates are given three minutes to answer the questions about Part 2.


Candidates are given four minutes to answer all the questions.


Transcript

Part 1

I had worked for some weeks with Kralesfsky before I discovered that he did not live alone. At intervals

during the morning he would pause suddenly, in the middle of a sum or recitation of country towns, and

cock his head on one side, as if listening.

‘Excuse me a moment,’ he would say. ‘I must go and see Mother.’

At first this rather puzzled me, for I was convinced that Kralefsky was far too old to have a mother still

living. After considerable thought, I came to the conclusion that this was merely his polite way of saying

that he wished to retire to the lavatory, for I realised that not everyone shared my family’s lack of

embarrassment when discussing this topic. It never occurred to me that, if this was so, Kralefsky closeted

himself more often than any other human being I had met. One morning I had consumed for breakfast

a large quantity of loquats, and they had distressing effects on me when we were in the middle of a

history lesson. Since Kralefsky was so finicky about the subject of lavatories I decided I would have to

phrase my request politely, so I thought it best to adopt his own curious term. I looked him firmly in the

eye and said I would like to pay a visit to his mother.


EXAMINATIONS BOARD




Page 133 of 158

‘My mother?’ he repeated in astonishment. ‘Visit my mother? Now?’

I could not see what the fuss was about, so I merely nodded.

‘Well,’ he said doubtfully, ‘I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you, of course, but I’d better just go and

see if it’s convenient.’

He left the room, still looking a trifle puzzled, and returned after a few minutes.

‘Mother would be delighted to see you,’ he announced, ‘but she says will you please excuse her being a

little untidy?’

I thought it was carrying politeness to an extreme to talk about the lavatory as if it were a human being,

but since Kralefsky was obviously a bit eccentric on the subject, I felt I had better humour him, I said I

did not mind a bit if his mother was in a mess, as ours frequently was as well.

‘Ah….er…yes, yes, I expect so,’ he murmured, giving me rather a startled glance.

Part 2

He led me down a corridor, opened a door, and, to my complete surprise, ushered me into a large

shadowy bedroom. The room was a forest of flowers; vases, bowls, and pots were perched everywhere,

and each contained a mass of beautiful blooms that shone in the gloom, like walls of jewels in a green-

shadowed cave. At one end of the room was an enormous bed, and in it, propped up on a heap of pillows,

lay a tiny figure not much bigger than a child. She must have been very old, I decided as we drew nearer,

for her fine, delicate features were covered with a network of wrinkles that grooved a skin as soft and

velvety-looking as a baby mushroom’s. But the astonishing thing about her was her hair. It fell over her

shoulders in a thick cascade, and then spread half way down the bed. It was the richest and most

beautiful auburn colour imaginable, glinting and shining as though on fire, making me think of autumn

leaves and the brilliant winter coat of a fox.

‘Mother dear,’ Kralefsky called softly bobbing across the room and seating himself on a chair by the bed,

‘Mother dear, here’s Gerry come to see you.’

The minute figure on the bed lifted thin, pale lids and looked at me with great tawny eyes that were as

bright and intelligent as a bird’s. She lifted a slender, beautifully shaped hand, weighed down with rings,

from the depths of the auburn tresses and held it out to me, smiling mischievously.

‘I am so very flattered that you asked to see me,’ she said in a soft, husky voice. ‘So many people

nowadays consider a person of my age a bore.’

Embarrassed, I muttered something, and the bright eyes looked at me, twinkling, and gave a fluting

blackbird laugh, and patted the bed with her hand.

‘Do sit down,’ she invited; ‘do sit down and talk for a minute.’

________________________________________________________________________________

(My Family and Other Animals (Chapter 14) by Gerald Durrell)


Page 134 of 158

Procedure for the Listening Comprehension Text 2:



Candidates are given three minutes to answer the questions.


Candidates are given another three minutes to answer the questions.


Transcript: The Guardian – We need to talk about the impact of Artificial Intelligence.

Presenter: Hello and welcome to, ‘We need to talk about the impact of Artificial Intelligence’, the latest

of our monthly podcasts in which Guardian journalists and industry experts delve into a topic suggested

by Guardian supporters and answer their questions on it. I’m Lee Glendinning, executive editor for

Membership of the Guardian and we’ve been urged by many of our supporters to have this conversation

about Artificial Intelligence.

So what do you think will be the skills that will be most in demand in this new world that we’re talking

about here when we think about AI often being labelled as the 4th Industrial Revolution?

Speaker 1: I’m tempted with my tongue in my cheek to say we’ve got an ageing population and

increasing technology. So explaining how to use the technology to half the population will be very in

demand. That’s me being a little bit cynical. Ehm, the ones that will be less in demand will be the

routine things and this is where, I think, AI is repeating what robotics has already done for industry…

that there are very few jobs now that rely on sheer physical, muscle power and the ones that do, tend

to also rely on skill and creativity and in the same way as mechanisation has taken over those, I think

AI will take over the very routine jobs like data entry and accounting but not the ones that actually

involve thinking about how to use it and why we’re using it – and more strategic level jobs. I’m a bit

worried now that I’m coming across a bit of a Luddite. I actually think we should embrace a lot of this

automation much more because one of the ways we could help ourselves have higher productivity and

a more growing economy and therefore, be in a position to generate new, exciting industries, would be

in fact to have more automation. New jobs could be created – it’s really hard to predict what. Just as

in…you know, the start of the 20th century, nobody predicted that aviation would be an international

industry that employs millions of people directly and indirectly. They just thought, ‘Oh, there are those

rich, crazy people, flying those machines around again’ and it’s really hard to point and say, ‘Here’s a

skill that you should definitely try and develop because your job will be safe’. Being flexible, creative,

adaptable, imaginative…

Presenter: All those vital things…

Speaker 1: All those vital things, which also, by coincidence, make you an interesting human being.

Presenter: Yes…

Speaker 2: We tend to think of certain jobs being safe because of how hard it is for existing computer

systems either to compute what needs to be computed or to enact what needs to be enacted. So you

know, it’s quite hard to get a robot to fix a broken sink, because plumbing is a very tricky, dexterous

job. Now, what that misses out is that you can change the job, it’s not only that you have to make the

computing and the robotics all fit things that humans do, because all of those jobs exist because humans


Page 135 of 158

are the way they are, and all those jobs are designed to be done by humans. You don’t then have to go

and design a robot to do it exactly the way a human does it. It’s exactly why a driverless car won’t just

drive the way a human drives, it will hopefully use a lot more intelligence that’s actually out on the street

rather than in the car…it won’t work in the same way. So you could actually see how a lot of these jobs

that people think are completely safe... because ah, it’s really hard to get a robot to do that,

will…actually….change what the job is, although it achieves the same aim i.e. the working sink, or

something like that.

Presenter: I hope you found that conversation was really fascinating. I’d like to thank the panel…

(https://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2018/sep/04/we-need-to-talk-about-impact-artificial-intelligence-podcast- technology)


Page 136 of 158


EXAMINATIONS BOARD




PAPER NUMBER: Level 2- 3

DATE:

TIME: 2 Hours

Section A: Listening (50 marks)

Text 1: Listen to an extract from the audio book My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell

in which Gerry is the narrator. Answer the questions that follow.

Part 1

1. Tick () the 5 correct sentences. (5 marks)

Gerry had only been working with Kralefsky for a week.

At first, Gerry thought Kralefsky lived alone.

Kralefsky never took a break during his lessons with Gerry.

Gerry had lessons with Kralefsky in the morning

Kralefsky often left Gerry alone to go and see Mother.

Gerry was confused when Kralefsky said that he wanted to visit Mother.

Gerry thought that Kralefsky’s mother was dead.

2. Fill in the grid below with the name of the character: Gerry, Kralefsky, Mother. (5 marks)

a. often seemed to be listening to something

b. had a big breakfast

c. learnt history

d. fussy about the subject of bathrooms

e. looked untidy


a. Gerry (immediately, eventually, never) thought that Kralefsky went to the bathroom when he said

he needed to visit Mother.

b. Gerry’s family (didn’t mind, felt awkward, couldn’t stand) talking about going to the bathroom.


Page 137 of 158

c. Gerry thought he had asked Kralefsky to go to the bathroom (crossly, politely, sarcastically).

d. Kralefsky was (annoyed, interested, surprised) when Gerry asked him to visit his mother.

e. Gerry told Kralefsky that his own mother was often in a mess to (keep him happy,

contradict him, make fun of him).

Part 2

4. Are the following sentences True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason. (5 marks)

a. Gerry went into a small bedroom.

True/False because_____________________________________________________

b. Mother’s bedroom was completely bare.

True/False because _____________________________________________________

c. Mother was a small woman.


d. Mother had short hair.


e. Mother was pleased that Gerry had asked to see her.


5. Put the following in the correct order according to the text. Number them from 1 to 5. The first one

(0) has been done for you. (5 marks)

Gerry notices Mother’s hair.

Kralefsky introduces Gerry to Mother.

Kralefsky leads Gerry down the corridor. 0

Mother invites Gerry to talk to her.

Gerry notices what Mother’s bedroom is like.

Gerry says something to Mother.


Page 138 of 158

Text 2: Listen to a podcast on the Guardian newspaper website about Artificial Intelligence.

1. Underline the correct answer in brackets based on what you have listened to. (10 marks)

a) The podcast is about the (effects, risks, benefits) of artificial intelligence.

b) This is the (first, most recent, last) podcast in the series.

c) When a new podcast is uploaded, speakers discuss a topic (briefly, thoroughly, superficially).

d) According to the speaker, the change made by AI has been (negligible, small, drastic).

e) There will be (great, little, no) need for people whose job it is to explain the new technology.

f) The speaker thinks AI is (copying, contradicting, studying) what robotics has done for industry.

g) Nowadays, the jobs which require you to be strong (don’t, also, rarely) require you to be creative.

h) AI will (replace, create, increase) routine jobs.

i) It is (easy, difficult, impossible) to tell which jobs will be popular in the future.

j) At the very end of the podcast, the presenter (thanks her colleagues at the Guardian newspaper,

gives her opinion on the future of AI, addresses the listeners and thanks the speakers).

2. Fill the missing information into the grid below. (8 marks)

How often a new podcast is uploaded

The role of the presenter at the Guardian newspaper

The part of the population that will need instruction in technology

A routine job that will be taken over by AI

The century in which aviation became popular

The number of people the speaker believes are in the flight industry

A job which requires being good with one’s hands

The number of speakers in the podcast including the presenter

3. Are the following statements True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason

according to what you have listened to. (7 marks)

a. The interviewer posed questions sent in by industry experts

True/ False because _________________________________________________________

b. The speaker is confident about getting people to understand the use of A.I.


c. According to the speaker, we should welcome having more machines.

True/ False because __________________________________________________________

d. According to the speaker, nobody thought that aviation would be a worldwide success.


e. According to the speaker,being flexible is the most important skill to prepare you for a future job.



Page 139 of 158

f. According to the speaker, it is difficult for current computer systems to carry out some jobs.


g. According to the speaker, robots in driverless cars are designed to do more than what humans

do.


Section B: Reading (25 marks)

Read the following extract and answer the questions about each part.

Part 1

Kralefsky lived in the top storeys of an old mansion that stood on the outskirts of the town. I

climbed the wide staircase and knocked hard on the front door. I waited, feeling angry at myself

and digging the heel of my shoe into the wine-red carpet with considerable violence; presently,

just as I was about to knock again, there came the soft pad of footsteps, and the front door opened

wide to reveal my new tutor. 5

I decided immediately that Kralefsky was not a human being but a gnome who had disguised

himself as one by wearing an old-fashioned but very neat suit. He had an egg-shaped head with

flattened sides that were tilted back against a smoothly rounded hump-back. This gave him the

appearance of being permanently in the middle of shrugging his shoulders. A long nose curved out

of his face, and his large eyes, hidden behind his spectacles, were of a pale sherry colour. They 10

had a fixed, faraway look in them, as though their owner were just waking up. His wide, thin mouth

managed to combine primness with humour, and now it was stretched across his face in a smile of

welcome.

‘Gerry Durrell?’ he asked, bobbing like a sparrow and flapping his bony hands at me. ‘Through here;

this is the room we shall work in,’ fluted Kralefsky, throwing open a door and ushering me to sit at 15

a table. He leaned over and smiled at me in a vague way. I smiled back, not knowing quite what

he expected.

‘Friends!’ he exclaimed, ‘it is important that we are friends. I am quite, quite certain we will become

friends, aren’t you?’

I nodded seriously, biting the inside of my cheeks to prevent myself from smiling. 20

‘Friendship,’ he murmured, shutting his eyes in ecstasy at the thought. ‘Friendship! That’s the

ticket!’

His lips moved silently, and I wondered if he was praying, perhaps for me, himself, or both of us.

‘Yes, yes, that’s it,’ he said firmly; ‘I’m sure we shall be friends. Your mother and I met for the first

time yesterday and she told me that you have a great love of natural history. This gives us 25

something in common straight away… a bond, as it were, eh?


1. Are the following True or False? Underline the correct answer and give a reason. (5 marks)

a. Kralefsky only lived in a part of the house.



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b. Gerry felt excited while he was waiting outside the door.

True/False because _______________________________________________________________

c. Gerry heard loud sounds coming from inside the house.


d. Kralefsky was well-dressed when he came to the door.

True/False because _______________________________________________________________

e. Kralefsky was surprised to see Gerry at the door.

True/False because________________________________________________________________

2. Explain how the writer’s use of the phrase ‘managed to combine primness with humour’ (line 12 ),

helps the reader understand what Kralefsky is like. (2 marks)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why did Gerry not want Mr Kralefsky to see that he was smiling (line 20)? (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. ‘I wondered if he was praying, perhaps for me, himself or for us.’ (line 23). Why did Gerry think that

Kralefsky might need to pray for himself? (1 mark)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________


Page 141 of 158

Part 2

He led the way up a staircase and paused in front of a green door. He produced a bunch of keys

that jangled musically as he searched for the right one; he inserted it, twisted it round and drew

open the heavy door. A dazzle of sunlight poured out of the room, blinding me, and with it came a 30

deafening chorus of bird song; it was as though Kralefsky had opened the gates of Paradise in the

grubby corridor at the top of his house. The attic was vast, stretching away across the whole top

of the house. The walls were linked, from floor to ceiling, with row upon row of big cages containing

dozens of fluttering, chirruping birds.

Attracted by this mass of birds, I edged round the room, pausing to gaze into each cage, while 35

Kralefsky seized a watering-can from the table and danced nimbly from cage to cage, filling water-

pots.

‘I wonder if you would care to assist?’ he asked, the can drooping in his hand. ‘A task like this is

so much easier if two pairs of hands work at it, I always think. Now, if you hold the watering-

can…so…I will hold out the pots to be filled….excellent! That’s the ticket! We shall accomplish this 40

in no time at all!

So, while I filled them with water, Kralefsky took the little pots with water carefully between finger

and thumb and inserted them through the cage doors, as though he were popping sweets into a

child’s mouth.

Eventually the watering was done, and Kralefsky stood surveying his birds, smiling to himself and 45

wiping his hands on a small towel. Then he led me round the room, pausing before each cage to

give me an account of the bird’s history, and what he hoped to do with it. We were examining a

bullfinch, when suddenly a loud, ringing sound rose above the clamour of bird song. To my

astonishment the noise appeared to emanate from somewhere inside Kralefsky’s stomach.

‘By Jove!’ he exclaimed in horror. 50

He inserted finger and thumb into his waistcoat and drew out his watch. He depressed a tiny lever

and the ringing sound ceased. I was a little disappointed that the noise should have such a

commonplace source; to have a tutor whose inside chimed at intervals would, I felt, have added

greatly to the charm of the lessons. Kralefsky peered at the watch and then screwed up his face in

disgust. 55

‘Twelve o’clock already…Dear me, and you leave at half-past, don’t you?’

‘Well,’ he said at last, ‘we cannot achieve any scholastic advancement in half an hour. Therefore, I

suggest we go into the garden and pick some groundsel for the birds.

So we went into the garden until honking its way down the street like a wounded duck, Spiro’s car

appeared. 60

(Adapted from My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrel)


Page 142 of 158


5. What do the following refer to in the text? (3 marks)

a. that (line 28) ____________________________

b. this (line 34) ____________________________

c. it (line 38) ____________________________

d. them (line 41) ____________________________

e. my (line 47) ____________________________

f. its (line 58) ____________________________

6. Between lines 34 and 54, find a word which means the same as: (3 marks)

a. gracefully _____________________________

b. examining _____________________________

c. loud noise _____________________________

d. come out _____________________________

e. stopped _____________________________

f. ordinary _____________________________

7. Explain what Gerry means by the words in bold in ‘to have a tutor whose inside chimed at intervals

would, I felt, have added to the charm of the lessons.’ (lines 39-40) (3 marks)

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

8. Between lines 25 and 44, pick out two phrases which show how well Kralefsky took care of his birds.

Explain how each of these phrases bring out this idea for the reader. (3 marks)

i. phrase ______________________________________________________________________

explanation___________________________________________________________________

ii. phrase ______________________________________________________________________

explanation___________________________________________________________________


Page 143 of 158

Read Part 1 and Part 2 and answer the following question:

9. Number the sentences 1-4 below in the order in which you read about them in the extract. The first

one (0) has been done for you. (4 marks)

a. Kralefsky tells Gerry all about his birds.

b. Kralefsky shows Gerry where they'll be working.

c. Kralefsky shows Gerry to the attic.


e. Kralefsky asks Gerry for help.


Page 144 of 158

Section C: Writing (25 marks)


The Student Council at your school is offering a prize for the best short story. Choose ONE of the following

as your entry to this competition:

1. ‘The Attic’

2. ‘A memorable visit’

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Page 146 of 158

Rating Scale – Speaking Private Candidate’s Paper MQF 2-3 (based on 100 marks)

(100 marks) MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 2

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

Students’ spoken


demonstrates these

features:

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Vocabulary

(includes

register)

Vocabulary range and accuracy are sufficient

to communicate

effectively on a wide variety of familiar and unfamiliar topics;

Word choice is appropriate and sensitive to register;

Expression is

consistently idiomatic; Paraphrasing is

consistently successful;


accuracy are sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete, and

general topics; Word choice is mostly

appropriate and sensitive to register;

Expression is mostly idiomatic;

Paraphrases mostly successful;


accuracy are often sufficient to communicate effectively on a topic, but range might be limited;

Word choice is fairly appropriate but not

consistently sensitive to register;

Expression is sometimes idiomatic;

Paraphrases is fairly successful.

Vocabulary range and accuracy

are often sufficient to communicate on topic, but range is limited;

Word choice is often inappropriate and mostly not sensitive to register;

Expression is rarely idiomatic; Paraphrasing is sometimes

used when lacking vocabulary,

but this is not always successful.

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Spoken

Grammar

An excellent range of accurate structures are produced with ease;

Grammatical structures are varied even though dominated by chained

clauses, and sentence patterns are consistently well

controlled; Utterances, which may

constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g.

chunks and clusters, ellipses), are well controlled and show evidence of fluency.

A good range of structures are produced with some ease;

Grammatical structures are quite varied even

though dominated by chained clauses, and sentence patterns are

mostly well controlled; Utterances, which may

constitute features of spoken grammar (e.g.

chunks and clusters, ellipses), are quite well controlled.

A fair range of structures are produced with some inaccuracies;

Grammatical structures are fairly varied even though dominated by chained

clauses, and sentence

patterns are fairly well controlled;


A limited range of structures is produced with a fair amount of inaccuracies;

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are not

always well controlled; Errors frequently sometimes



Page 147 of 158

25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Intelligibility

(pronunciation

& stress)

Communication is effortless and intelligible;


never interfere with ease of understanding.

Communication is clearly intelligible;


rarely interfere with ease of understanding.

Communication is mostly intelligible;

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation sometimes interfere with

ease of understanding, but never put strain on the listener.

Communication is quite intelligible but with evidence of difficulties in some parts;


25-21 20-16 15-11 10-0

Discourse

Management

(structure,

connectors, etc.)

& Coherence


with appropriate tempo;

Consistent fluency with effective communication;

Speech is rarely

affected by repetitions, pauses and self-correction, and these never interfere with ease of understanding;


connectors are used well and spontaneously;

Consistently appropriate and well-structured ideas which follow a clear

sequence; Whenever necessary,

organizational patterns are employed

effectively and competently;

Fillers are used

appropriately.

Stretches of language with mostly appropriate tempo;

Mostly fluent with effective communication;

Speech is sometimes affected by repetitions, pauses and self-correction, but these

rarely interfere with ease of understanding;

Discourse markers and connectors are used well.

Mostly appropriate and quite well structured ideas which follow a clear sequence;

Whenever necessary,

organizational patterns are employed effectively;

Fillers are mostly used

appropriately.

Stretches of language with fairly appropriate tempo;

Fairly fluent with some ineffective communication;

Speech is somewhat affected by repetitions, pauses and self-correction, but these only interfere

sometimes with ease of understanding;

Discourse markers and connectors are used mostly well;

Whenever necessary, organizational patterns are

employed fairly effectively. Fillers are sometimes

distracting.

Stretches of language but tempo is sometimes

inappropriate; Hesitations or slowness in

language processing may prevent effective communication’

Speech is often affected by repetitions, pauses and self‐

correction and these sometimes interfere with ease of understanding;

Some use of discourse markers or connectors;

Speech is fairly structured talk but shows difficulty in

remaining coherent; Fillers are often distracting.


Page 148 of 158

Marking Scheme

Section A: Listening

Part 1

1.

Gerry had only been working with Kralefsky for a week.

At first, Gerry thought Kralefsky lived alone.

Kralefsky never took a break during his lessons with Gerry.

Gerry had lessons with Kralefsky in the morning

Kralefsky often left Gerry alone to go and see Mother.

Gerry was confused when Kralefsky said that he wanted to visit Mother.

Gerry thought that Kralefsky’s mother was dead.

5 marks

2.

a. often seemed to be listening to something Kralefsky

b. had a big breakfast Gerry

c. learnt history Gerry

d. fussy about the subject of bathrooms Kralefsky

e. looked untidy Mother

5 marks

3. a. eventually

b. didn’t mind

c. politely

d. surprised

e. keep him happy

5 marks

Part 2

4. a. True/False because it was large.

b. True/False because it was full of flowers, vases, bowls and pots.

c. True/False because she was a tiny figure/not much bigger than a child.

d.True/False because it fell over her shoulders/spread halfway down her

shoulders/cascaded over the bed.

e. True/False because she was flattered.

5 marks

5.

Gerry notices Mother’s hair. 2

Kralefsky introduces Gerry to Mother. 3

Kralefsky leads Gerry down the corridor. 0

Mother invites Gerry to talk to her. 5

Gerry notices what Mother’s bedroom is like. 1

Gerry says something to Mother. 4

5 marks


Page 149 of 158

Text 2

1. a) effects

b) most recent

c) thoroughly

d) drastic

e) great

f) copying

g) also

h) replace

i) difficult

j) addresses the listeners and thanks the speakers

10 marks

2. How often a new podcast is uiploaded every month

The role of the presenter at the Guardian newspaper editor

The part of the population that will need instruction in

technology Ageing/half

A routine job that will be taken over by AI Data

entry/accounting

The century in which aviation became popular 20th

The number of people that the speaker believes are

employed in the flight industry Millions

A job which requires being good with one’s hands Plumber

The number of speakers in the podcast including the

presenter 3

8 marks

3. a. True/False because the questions are sent in by Guardian supporters.

b. True/ False because she’s cynical about it/ she thinks it will be hard.

c. True/ False because she thinks we need to embrace automation/more

automation will increase productivity.

d. True/False because nobody predicted that aviation would be a worldwide

success.

e. True/ False because being creative, adaptable and imaginative are also

important.

f. True/ False because existing computer systems find it hard to compute what

needs to be computed/enact what needs to be enacted.

g. True/ False because it will use more intelligence than a human.

7 marks


Page 150 of 158

Section B: Reading

Part 1

1. a. True/False because he lived in the top storeys of a mansion.

b. True/False because he felt angry.

c. True/False because he heard the soft pad of footsteps.

d. True/False because he was wearing a neat suit.

e. True/False because he said Gerry’s name as soon as he opened the door.

5 marks

2. Kralefsky was proper as would be expected of a tutor but there was a funny side to

him. 2 marks

3. Gerry did not want Kralefsky to think he was making fun of him or that he thought

that the idea of them being friends was ridiculous. 1 mark

4. Gerry thought that perhaps Kralefsky was daunted by the idea of being his tutor/ that

he’d be a difficult student to tutor. 1 mark

Part 2

5. a. that (line 28) - bunch of keys

b. this (line 34) - mass of birds

c. it (line 38) - task/watering-can/filling the pots

d. them (line 41) - water-pots

e. my (line 47) - Gerry’s/belonging to Gerry

f. its (line 58) - the car’s/ belonging to the car

3 marks

6. a. gracefully - nimbly

b. examining - surveying

c. loud noise - clamour

d. come out - emanate

e. stopped - ceased

f. ordinary - commonplace

3 marks

7. Gerry seems to know that lessons with Kralefsky wouldn’t be ordinary or boring and

before he realise that it was his watch making the sound, Gerry thought it might be

another peculiar aspect of Kralefsky’s character.

3 marks

8. Accept any two:

i. phrase ‘as though he were popping sweets into a child’s mouth’

explanation Kralefsky cared for his birds as though they were his own children.

ii. phrase ‘stood, surveying his birds, smiling to himself’

explanation Tending to the birds gave Kralefsky satisfaction.

iii. phrase ‘pausing before each cage to give me an account of the bird’s history’

explanation ‘He knew his birds individually and each one meant a lot to him’.

3 marks

Part 1 and Part 2

9

.

a. Kralefsky tells Gerry all about his birds. 4

4 marks

b. Kralefsky shows Gerry where they'll be

working.

1

c. Kralefsky shows Gerry to the attic. 2


e. Kralefsky asks Gerry for help. 3


Page 151 of 158

Section C: Writing Private Candidate’s Paper MQF 2-3 (based on 100 marks)

MQF 3 MQF 3 MQF 2 MQF 2

100 marks Writing typically shows that: Writing typically shows

that: Writing typically shows that:

Writing typically shows

that:

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Task

Achievement

Task is achieved in full;

Content is completely relevant;

Features of a narrative are entirely

appropriate.


Content is mostly relevant;


mostly appropriate.


Content is underdeveloped;




Content is mostly irrelevant;


mostly inappropriate.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Grammar Varied and accurate use of

grammatical structures and syntax;

Mostly accurate use of


syntax;

Basic use of grammatical structures

and syntax;

Inaccurate use of


syntax;

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Spelling and

Punctuation

Accurate use of spelling and

punctuation.

Good use of spelling and

punctuation.

Adequate use of spelling and

punctuation with some errors.

Poor use of spelling and

punctuation with many

errors.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Organisation

and

Structure

Writing is coherently structured and

organised;

Paragraph features are consistently

adhered to;

Sentences and paragraphs are

cohesively linked throughout.

Writing is mostly coherently


Paragraph features are

mostly adhered to;


are mostly cohesively linked.

Writing is fairly coherently


Paragraph features are sometimes

adhered to;

Sentences and paragraphs are fairly

cohesively linked.

Writing is poorly structured

and organised;

Paragraph features are hardly

adhered to;


are not cohesively linked.

20-15 14-9 8-4 3-0

Vocabulary

and Register

Wide range of vocabulary;

Excellent choice of register.

Good range of vocabulary;

Appropriate choice of

register.

Fair range of vocabulary;

Adequate choice of register.

Limited choice of vocabulary;

Register is mostly ignored.


Page 152 of 158

Section C: Writing Private Candidate’s Paper MQF 2-3

Total (___/100)*25


Page 153 of 158

Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms

Anaphoric reference A relation between two linguistic expressions such that the second one refers back to the

first e.g. She must have cut herself.

Audience The receivers or intended receivers of a written, spoken or multimodal text.

Bias A strong opinion that is presented by a writer or speaker.

Cataphoric reference A relation between two linguistic expressions such that the first one refers forward to the

second e.g. It’s nice, that table.

Chunks in speaking We use chunks like you know, you know what I mean, I know what you’re saying to check

and show understanding between speaker and listener.

Clause A group of words containing a finite verb.

Cohesion It is concerned with the formal links between clauses, how an item – a pronoun, a noun or

a conjunction – in one clause may refer backwards or forwards to another clause.

Coherence It is concerned with the overall interpretation of a text as a unified piece of discourse, not

just the formal links. Coherence is a combined linguistic and cognitive property.

Collocations Pairs of words that are habitually used together e.g. heavy traffic, strong tea.

Continuous text Texts that are formed by sentences organised into paragraphs. Examples of continuous

texts include newspapers, reports, essays, novels, short stories, reviews and letters.

Continuous texts are also known as prose texts.

Discourse It is any piece of continuous piece of speech or writing in its social context and refers to

the interactive and communicative dimension of language, which involves the dynamic

processes of text production and understanding. It entails that large units of language have

a definable communicative function.

Discourse marker A type of insert used in conversation. It signals interactively how the speaker plans to steer

the dialogue e.g. Now, here’s some…

Discursive writing A piece of writing in which the writer discusses a given topic and presents arguments

related to it.

Draft The stage in the writing process in which the writer organises information and ideas into

sentences and paragraphs.

Ellipsis Omission of a clause or phrase elements that can be constructed from the context e.g. A:

I have to appease you. B: No, you don’t.

Expository writing A piece of writing which seeks to explain. This can include essays, articles, instruction

manuals, textbooks.

Genre It refers to different communicative events which are associated with particular settings

and which have recognised structures and communicative functions. Examples of genres

according to this conceptualisation would be laboratory reports, news articles, recipes,

religious sermons, political speeches, curriculum vitae, and more recent ‘virtual’ genres

such as various types of emails, text messages, instant messages, tweets and Facebook

pages.

Heteronyms Each of two or more words with the same spelling but which have different pronunciation

and meaning e.g. wind meaning to coil up and wind meaning the blowing air.


Page 154 of 158

High-frequency words Words which occur most frequently in written material e.g. and, it, the. These words often

have little meaning on their own but they contribute a great deal to the meaning of a

sentence.

Homograph A word which is spelled the same as another word, but that has a different meaning, origin

or pronunciation e.g. bow (the front of a ship)/bow (a loop made in string or ribbon/bow(a

device to shoot arrows).

Homonym A word that sounds the same or is spelled the same as another word but has a different

meaning e.g. new/knew, bow (to bend at the waist)/bow (a weapon).

Homophone A word that is pronounced the same as another word but that has a different meaning or

spelling, or both e.g. sow/sew, to/two/too.

Intelligibility The communicative effect of pronunciation features. It is often dependent on the amount

of strain the speakers cause the listener.

Non-continuous text Texts that are organised differently than continuous texts, and therefore require a

different kind of reading approach. Examples of non-continuous texts include lists, tables,

graphs, diagrams, advertisements, schedules, catalogues, indexes and forms.

List of three This refers to making three related points in order to support one’s argument.

Low-frequency words Words are considered low-frequency if they are not commonly used e.g. tisane.

Parallelism This refers to using elements in sentences that are grammatically similar in structure,

sound, meaning or metre. This technique adds symmetry, effectiveness and balance to the

written piece. E.g. Like father, like son.

Purpose the intention behind a text in terms of what it is designed to do and how it is used. Texts

can have more than one purpose.

Register It refers to the varieties of language that are associated with different circumstances and

purposes. They are often dependent on the context and the language chosen is deemed

as appropriate to the interaction, situation, communicative purpose and audience.

Repair An utterance in conversation where a speaker repeats what was said with sort of

correction e.g. I don’t think you sh- I think you should leave.

Rhetorical devices A use of language that is intended to have an effect on one's audience e.g. repetition,

figurative language, rhetorical questions.

Scan To look through a text quickly in order to find out a piece of information that you want or

to get to the general idea of what the text contains.

Signposts They are expressions that outline and structure the points of information or line of

argumentation in the spoken interaction or written work.

Skim To read or consider something quickly in order to understand the main points, without

studying it in detail.

Style The technique used in one's writing depending on syntax, word choice and tone.

Text structures The five most common text structures are: compare and contrast, cause and effect,

problem and solution, sequence, description.

Text types Differ in purpose and linguistic characteristics. They are rhetorical modes that follow

systematic internal discourse patterns. Problem-solution, exposition and argument are

examples of text types.

Transactional It is language which is used to make a transaction, and which has a result. It can be

compared with interactional language, which is used to maintain relationships such as


Page 155 of 158

write a transactional letter that has a clear objective, e.g. asking for a refund or for

information, or making a complaint.

Transitional expressions Words and phrases which connect one idea to another within sentences and between

paragraphs e.g. in addition, similarly, although.

Utterance When we speak, we do not strictly produce sentences; instead, we produce utterances. An

utterance is a single piece of speech marked off as a unit in some way; for example, by

pauses and intonation.

(Sources: Paltridge, B. (2002). Genre, text type and the EAP classroom. In Johns, A. (Ed.) Genre in the Classroom: Multiple

perspectives (pp. 73–90). Malwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Flowerdew, J. (2013). Discourse in English Language Education. London: Routledge.

Biber, D., Conrad, S. & Leech, G. (2002). Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Essex: Longman.

Cambridge dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/)

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/


Page 156 of 158

Appendix 2: Text Types (Reading and Writing)

The table below contains the Reading text types which students need to be familiar with.

Text types Genres ‘virtual’ genres

Informative/Explanatory Form filling

Report (chronological/non-chronological)

Agenda

Leaflet

Itinerary

Caption

Biography

Poster

Invitation

Postcard

Announcement

Letter of Apology

Memo

Blog

Post on social network

Email

Descriptive Curriculum Vitae

Letter of application

Notes for an interview

Interview write-up

Travel Blog


Email

Instructive/Procedure List of rules

Recipe

Rules of a game

How-to guide

Schedule of task

Planning an event

Email

Persuasive (e.g. Opinion)

Advert

Opinion

Poster

Letter of complaint

Letter of Apology

Speech

Blog

Online forum


Email

Discussion (e.g. Argument,

Problem and Solution)

Review

Article

Letter to the editor

Letter of complaint

Online forum

Chat


Email

Narrative/Recount Review

Diary Entry

Recount

Note taking

Letter of Apology

Blog


Email


Page 157 of 158

Short story

Newspaper report

Note: Some genres appear more than once. For example, an email is an electronic message which may

replicate the content of a letter.

Total length of Reading texts in Controlled Assessment:

MQF 1-2 800-1000 words

MQF 2-3 1000-1300 words

The table below contains the text types for writing. The text types marked * will be assessed in the

Controlled Assessment.

Text types Genres ‘virtual’ genres

Informative/Explanatory Form filling

Report (chronological/non-

chronological)*

Agenda

Leaflet

Itinerary

Caption

Biography

Poster

Invitation

Postcard

Announcement

Letter of Apology*

Memo

Blog

Post on social network*

Email*

Descriptive Curriculum Vitae

Letter of application

Notes for an interview

Interview write-up

Travel Blog*


Email*

Instructive/Procedure List of rules*

Recipe*

Rules of a game

How-to guide

Schedule of task

Planning an event*

Email*

Persuasive (e.g. Opinion)

Advert

Opinion*

Poster

Letter of complaint*

Letter of Apology*

Blog

Online forum


Email*


Page 158 of 158

Speech

Discussion (e.g. Argument,

Problem and Solution)

Review*

Article*

Letter of complaint*

Online forum

Chat


Email*

Narrative/Recount Review*

Diary Entry

Recount

Note taking

Letter of Apology*

Short story

Newspaper report

Blog


Email*

Appendix 3: List of thematic areas

1. personal information

2. daily life and work

3. relations with other people

4. house and home

5. free time

6. entertainment and media

7. travel

8. health and fitness

9. education

10. shopping

11. food and drink

12. services

13. places

14. the environment

15. weather

16. social and global issues

17. science and technology

Documents

SEC 11 Syllabus - um.edu.mt